Home of the big red bus

You guessed it WADDA and his entourage are swanning around London for a few days prior to our departure for Europe . So after shaking a bit of jet lag it's full steam ahead to catch as much of this great city as possible. With the Dubai fleecing still etched firmly in my mind I have decided to let this matter rest for the time being and deal with it later on. Up and about early to catch a hop on hop off bus tour of this great city, for just 23 quid a pop you can tour all day. This experience is a must when you visit this well preserved city of 20 odd million people, stopped off at the London eye to see the city from above. The poms run a very good show with all their tourist attraction stuff, then off we went to Buckingham Palace along with thousands of others but I don't think old Betty was home cos WADDA and his entourage weren't invited in for a cuppa or to pat the corgis,maybe some other time. No1 grandson in a moment of excitement has left some camera gear on the bus and this means another lap of London oh well it could have been worse it could have been his mother ......no such luck. Another great day was had looking at some of Londons finest buildings, and the one that impressed me the most was the beautiful St Pancres railway station. No finer building will ever be built again , it is just beautiful . The time is near for WADDA to say goodnight ...........WADDA

The vacation has begun

Over the weekend 5 members of my family and myself left the shores of this beautiful country and headed overseas for a 6 week holiday to England & Europe with a short stopover in Dubai. After 2hrs  in the land of sand we take to the skies again heading for London, I was feeling very confident after my first financial transactions on foreign soil, just paid 47 bucks for 3 coffees and a soft drink, on day one WADDA has been fleeced but at 38000 feet there is not much you can do about it, some good news as our journey nears the end we have been made an offer to view the cockpit of the massive A380 which has just flown us half way around the world,thanks toQantas ,we clear security at Heathrow and head for the bright lights of the city to find or lodgings for the next 4 days. The tube is the most efficient way to get around over here, so armed with our Oyster card we dip our toe into the Uks public transport system and head for the Kings Inn hotel which is situated over the road from St Pancras station. After checking into this nice but cramped hotel i leave my 5 washed out and jet lagged companions to catch up on some hygienic matters ,and I hit the high street. Just need to upgrade my mobile broadband to suit the European way. 88 quid later I am all sorted . Damm can't leave this family unattended for to long ,I find them panic stricken out the front of the hotel some drug affected feral tried to extort money from this this loving daughter of mine but FAILED . Gotta go............WADDA

The time is nearly here

With the final threads of this overseas holiday finally stitched up and only 3 days to our departure things are starting to get a bit hectic. My life is heading for a life changing experience which I am sure I can handle, not being able to speak any other language other than English I see some fun times ahead  in these far away  outposts of Europe. With the gypsies,tramps and thieves in some of these places Wadda will need to be on high alert at all times, I think I will leave my body armour at home as it might slow me down if I have to retreat in a hurry. The long haul flight to London via Dubai will be a testing time, locked in this confined space for such a long time will test my  inner self, gotta go see ya soon.....WADDA

 I do love Australia

What will WADDA do next 👣

In 3 weeks time Wadda is leaving this beautiful sunburnt country and the wide open spaces of Australia and heading to the land where everything is old and in some cases in ruins. You guessed it i will be heading to the old dart as well as a the cobblestone streets of Europe, along with myself there will be 5 other traveling companions . This miss match of personal is not my idea ,but I will try my best to be friendly and show some mercy on this unfit and untrained bunch of AUSSIES.The ages of this motley crew range from 60 something to 13 something ,so you will understand my work as tourism ambassador will surely be tested . My plan is to blog every few days if possible, if we have any internal problems like a mutiny or any other hissy fits I will be forced to take matters into my own hands then they will be sorry, so to those who follow this blog site stay hooked up and follow the action.........WADDA

The day after

What proved to be the highlight of my weekend in Canberra came to end on Saturday night, yes these  big events sure can wear you down. But as night turns into day we set ourselves for another crack at some of the other attractions that draw people to our capital. First up we head up MT AINSLE to capture the overall view of our national capital, very impressive. Next stop will be the AWM with many hours to be spent here  pouring over our war history.Five hours later as we leave this place of sadness I know that some day I will return. Over a long lunch at Poppy's restaurant we plot our next move ,on arrival at the old Parliament House we are soon engrossed with an old but well maintained piece of Australian history, much to see but time is getting shorter. As we cruise the suburban streets of the national capital playing spot foreign embassies darkness starts to take over so we return to our hotel to hatch our next plan. Dining out tonight will take place at King OMalleys Irish pub, with Irish music and a wee drop of Guinness and a cosey corner we settle in for a while. As the evening drifts slowly by I notice some warm cider for sale, after a couple of samples we decide to call it a day. As we stroll through the city we discover another sad side to our national capital, yes the homeless people are starting to claim their doorways for the night. Pretty sad for our national capital.           WADDA

Honouring our war dead

As time closes in on ANZAC day 2015 I will take time to reflect on our fallen soldiers from the wars of the past. As I start my of journey of enlightenment to Canberra I think of the sacrifices made by these brave young men who set off from our safe shores of Australia to the land of the unknown ,many never to return. My trip begins on the eve of ANZAC day with my mate Tom his wife Cheryl and my wife Denise , with a 7.30am departure planned we set sail on our journey to take part in the dawn service in Canberra at the Australia war memorial. After a 1hour stopover at the Holbrook bakery we continue our journey north, as the Hume highway unfolds before us the car navigation system starts to predict several ways to reach our destination. There will be no fooling the driver Big Tom he knows best, yes we turn off the highway and head to locations unknown to the rest of us, THIS SHOULD BE FUN. As doubt begins to creep into big Toms head I quickly turn on my iPad to scour Google maps looking for a quick route out of these badlands of NSW. Arrived at the Medina hotel in Canberra to settle in for our 3 day pilgrimage of the national capital, gotta go to bed early as we will be attending the dawn service which means out of bed at 3am. Up early and grab a cab to the dawn service arriving at 4.15am only to be greeted by a swam of people also attending the dawn service as well , we also stayed for the day service. With some 100 odd thousand attending the dawn service this become a very moving moment in the clean crisp air of our national capital. As the morning finishes we grab a cab to the Ainsle football club for a late lunch, the afternoon gets only better as the Maggies take on the Bombers on the big screen. A solid afternoon was put in but the lights are starting to fade in this old mans body, as bed calls all I can add is WHAT A DAY.                 WADDA

Good bye 2014

With 2014 drawing to a close and 2015 just beginning let me just reflect on the year that was. With the outback adventure under my belt early in the year ,and my retirement from full time employment around mid year I have settled into life at a slower speed. As the year crept towards Xmas the arrival of grandchild number 5 bought great excitement to the family, well done to the doting parents of this little bundle of joy. With time spent at Wycheproof it is now time to move south to the coast to spend new year at Ocean Grove, as new years eve draws closer I carefully plan a alcohol free day to try to save my tortured body for one last tilt at seeing in the new year. When the time finally arrives I am in near peak condition ,with the early arrival of the Mudges the chiminea is fired up and the beer is cold ,we now settle in to await the arrival of 2015 in 6 hours time. My brother inlaw was in fine form as we await this night to end ,our wives also took up a position near the chiminea I start the barbie. Time passes very quickly as midnight nears,a quick trip the beach to watch the fireworks...WOW. As 2015 has now arrived we have farewelled 2014 in style we were quite proud off........WADDA