you may have picked up on this from the previous entry. well indeed pyMac and pyMac Mini recently had an amazing road trip to Sydney along the SE coast from Melbourne and back main land via the Hume Highway. we camped at various beach spots along the way with the highlight being a bush campsite at a beach called ‘pebbly beach’. pebbly beach lacks pebbles, not that we were complaining, but does have it’s own wildlife right there on the beach and in the campsite - see pics above. it must be noted that one of the many highlights on the trip for py was being driven for over 100km’s by Mac out of a total of 2500km’s! half way point on the road trip was a stay in Sydney with py’s school friend Caroline and her fiancé Sasa. thanks guys for a great few days and the loan of your bed - hope to see you in Melbourne very soon. the return from Sydney was along the Hume Highway ending with a day driving through the area closest to Melbourne that was hit by the bushfires. plenty of pictures to upload to Flickr once Mac has found 5 minutes to edit them all. 

well after our little excursion to Sydney over the easter break we are uploading a piccie of the front of our house to be. probably looks quite funny to you english folk, what with it being a bungalow - no we haven’t become pensioners over night, just the way things are here. the picture isn’t great as we have had to resize it from the real-estate website until we take some proper ones. but when you come to visit this is where you will most likely be staying - and especially for Mark we think we may have ‘bogans’ as neighbours.

py went for the second trimester scan last thursday and spent an hour laid out on the bed, whilst jellybean proceeded to move around like a mexican jumping bean. it is quite amazing to see all the detail they manage to pick up, especially seeing the face for the first time, although it does look a little alien-like due to it’s constant wriggling! i have now passed the 22 week mark and am still feeling pretty good, although a little tight around the middle. i was informed that Jellybean weighs about 490 grams, so we are getting bigger all the time. thankfully the movements are not yet brutal enough to hurt.

well it’s all news at the moment as 2007 shapes up to be a massive year for pyMac. today we put an offer in on a house and a little after 6pm we had our offer accepted. the offer is subject to completion of a building inspection that we will have conducted next week - but basically we have a house!! all very exciting for the three of us. it’s not a dream home, but a great little place for us to make our first family home and hopefully somewhere a few of you might get to visit over the next few years - there is plenty of room for guests ; ) at the moment we are due to settle on May 18th, updates to follow…

this coming wednesday py, Mac and the jellybean will all be off to watch/listen to ‘the pixies’. now strange as this may seem, this will be the first gig the great band has ever played in Australia as they never toured here before their break up. now they are back together and will be playing some V-festival shows in the land down under. but a lucky few in Melbourne will get to see them play their first show here as a warm up to the festivals - and we got tickets YAY!! we are very excited and will let you know how the great Frank Black and friends perform on the night.

it appears that our mighty Labour government may be turning the clock back. like the US the UK seems to believe that having and updating it’s nuclear arms is the best way to convince the rest of the known world that they shouldn’t have nuclear arms of their own - leading by example once again. if you care for the future - the world that hopefully some of our kids will grow happy in then please take the time to read around this issue and decide how you can help stop the latest in a line of political events that are selling the future down the drain. if you do not support the government’s views or action be sure to find a way to make your own and other’s voices heard. read more about the No-Bomb campaign here.

well since we had the news that soon 2 would become 3, pyMac™ and the soon to be pyMac Mini™ (still working on the pyMac pyPhone™) we have had lots to think about and start acting upon. mostly this has been the need to think about where we will live. so house hunting has picked up again. when we looked pre christmas it was tiring and frustrating in equal measures, and surfice to say not much has changed having taken up the hunt again - though py may be finding the ‘tiring’ part more of an issue now. any updates in the situation will be added to the blog as they occur.

… on the way to pick up pyMac’s belated christmas present that is. Mac’s sister sent pyMac a really cool set of Gorillaz figures, from Kid Robot - Mac went down to the St Kilda post office to pick them up during his lunch hour. After wating in line for a few minutes and finally handing over his id to pick up the parcel, there is a voice from the queue ‘i know that bloke, from snowboarding, sure i do’. Well sure enough Mac turns around and recognises Craig, a good friend of a good friend (Stuart McGee, singer with PDHM - metal heads click here).

what does pyMac make of all this - WEIRD that is what. It just really is one of those small world things. move to other side of the world, wait a week to go to the post office in your lunch hour and then bump into some bloke from London on the day he is leaving Melbourne for Tasmania!! well Craig is back in Melbourne this weekend and we will be catching up sunday before he heads off to Sydney in his campervan. here’s to WEIRD and small world craziness and friends all around the world.

well we have been making the most of our time before Jellybean arrives in late July and have been to see a fair amount of music over the past couple of weeks. our first was to the Big Day Out, where we saw the likes of Tool (py’s favourite), Lily Allen, who was great live especially if you are into ska, Muse who have the most incredible live sound, (certainly better than on their cd’s in our opinion!), and a few local acts like Macromantics, John Butler Trio, The Herd and The Vines. Later that same week we went to Festival Hall to see Muse, and Py is actually kind of glad she missed out on Tool tickets (the gig was on the same night), because seeing Muse in a relatively small venue was absolutely incredible… if you haven’t seen them live then we seriously suggest you don’t miss out, no matter what music you are into!

finally, last weekend we went to the Good Vibrations Festival, the music was good, we saw the Beastie Boys, J5, Rahzel and JS-1, Cut Copy, DJ Yoda, and Nightmares on Wax, but the crowd was a bit crap. guess the mix of dance/house/techno and hip hop caused some very different people to turn up. strange venue too, way too many people for such a small space when 90% of those people are on a very strange cocktail of substances… but despite this the music was good, and it was even a laugh to see snoop dogg and his posse!

as most of you are aware, we have an upcoming addition to the pyMac family, which we are very excited about! we had our 12 week ultrasound scan today and were amazed at how much it has grown and changed in two weeks. Jellybean is just over 5cm long, with little arms and legs clearly visible on the scan, as well as it’s little fluttering heart, although it really doesn’t look like a ‘jellybean’ at all now! it is truly amazing for both of us, but those who know Mac in any way at all, will know just how excited he was! 

Day 1 - Arrival
Arrived on time to find Tony & Nico waiting for me which was a surprise considering I had forgotten to tell them which flight I was on!! Was then whisked through the streets of Melbourne to hear the strains of Michael Jackson booming out from the local traffic - Nice!!
In a bid to try & cheat the jet-lag, we embarked on a mission to find a ‘Bottle-O’. This finally proved successful after having to dodge a few ladies of the night and their associates.

Day 2 - First Full Day
The main object of the day was to purchase the one thing I had forgotten to pack...a jacket. To think that I might get away without having to use one would have been most unwise as it turned out.
A trip to the local ‘Tigger Brothers’ was ideal as I managed to buy what turned out to be a strait-jacket masquerading as a hoody...This caused much amusement for the rest of the trip - mainly when trying to put it on or take it off…
A visit to The Espy in the evening proved most entertaining as we saw bands of various talents, but the highlight had to be the couple who sat next to us. It turns out that the guy knew Tony from Nottingham and Rock City days which was most bizarre. Small world eh?! We stopped on the way home in Acland Street into one of their ‘famous’ cake shops. I admit that I must’ve been in the grip of cake fever, as I decided to buy far too many & started purchasing on the basis of size and colour. This was to prove my downfall when we arrived home as sometimes luminous cakes don’t taste as good as you think they might....

Days 3 & 4 - Phillip Island
To be told we were staying in a ‘shack’ could give you the wrong idea. This was to be proved totally wrong as the place was larger than my house! I am still concerned about the elaborate pulley system though…
On the way to the island we pulled over to help out some ‘Bogans’ (Bogan) who had fallen asleep in their car & awoke to find the radiator had mysteriously disappeared…
Word of advice - don’t go to the Penguin Parade too early, as you’ll be sitting on the concrete steps waiting for nightfall for some time before the penguins appear. This can play havoc with your piles…
When they did appear though, it was fantastic. To see them all waddling out of the sea and being scared by seagulls was a sight to behold.
After the parade we went on a hunt for fish n chips to find the whole island closed apart from one pizza parlour. The fish n chips saga was one that would run & run…
The following morning we visited the interestingly named Nobbies to admire the seal colony. Unfortunately the seals were a touch further away than initially anticipated as they were beyond the Nobbies. On the way back to the car, wildlife spotter extraordinaire Nico managed to spot a penguin nesting in a burrow. A lot of photos were taken, but I am yet to see if any of them are as good as seeing it in the flesh.
On the way back to the city we stopped off at Sorrento for their ‘world famous’ vanilla slice. After we were finally served, we were not disappointed. There was also a plan to stop for fish & chips but time beat us yet again…

Days 5-7 - Melbourne Skills
Some of my initial plans had been to do the touristy thing around the city on the first day & then spend the next few days chilling out on the beach. Well the fabled Melbourne weather put paid to that very quickly. It was actually warmer in London than Melbourne for 3 days. I think I single-handedly managed to solve the water shortage issues as it rained, hailed and even snowed over the course of these 3 days. Wet & windy days followed by cold nights weren’t exactly what you may have in mind when thinking about Australia. However it did give me the opportunity to see a lot more of the city centre & environs than probably would have occurred otherwise. A rare break in the weather on Day 6 enabled me to spend a couple of hours at the MCG watching the Sheffield Shield game (I think its called the Pura league now, but its still the Sheffield Shield to me...) between Victoria and Tasmania. The ‘G’ is an awesome stadium having just been completed after a total re-vamp. It now seats 100,000, but it was very strange to sit in there with only a few hundred others.
The one light on the horizon with all this bad weather meant that I had the opportunity to ingratiate myself with the locals at The Greyhound Hotel, which seemed to end up being my stopping point most evenings. As soon as I learnt Happy Hour began at 5.30, then I knew how to plan my day… On the Tuesday evening they have quiz night during which I was ‘coerced’ into joining the team at the bar. Unbelievably we managed to win the quiz, but in order to stop a revolt from the patrons we had to forego the $50 prize. However, I did enjoy a cheeky couple of free drinks to while the night away.

Days 8-11 - Taking the edge off in Adelaide
The distance from Melbourne to Adelaide is around 730km & once again Nico settled into the driver’s seat to take us on our way. We arrived late evening into the suburb of Glenelg to be greeted by Nico’s mother and a very excitable dog. I was then treated to some homemade soup, before we all crashed out in the back room. Had a brief introduction to Jasper (Nico’s brother) but as I had taken my lenses out, everything was a blur by that stage. However our friendship would be cemented later that weekend.
The Friday proved to be a most eventful day. We went into the city as Tony & Nico were off on a lunch date, but they still had time to show me the Mulls Balls (sp?) before I was met by Amy. After having lunch at a cheeky little Thai restaurant, she was tasked with showing me the sights of the city centre, which seemed to consist of showing me lingerie shops and buying me chocolates… Naturally this was more than I could handle, so I asked to be taken straight to the cricket, where South Australia were playing England. Tony & Nico had re-joined us by this stage and the highlight of the game was Darren Lehman being run out on 99 whilst going for a suicidal 2nd run. Much banter ensued....
After the cricket we whizzed off to an art exhibition as my arm was twisted by talk of free booze. Nico & then Amy were chatting away to a guy who I assumed was one of the exhibitors. He then came up to me & said “hello, you must be Mark”. I was taken back initially, but then he said “I’m Garth, Nico’s father” and suddenly it all became clear. We all went for some Italian food skills, followed by a trip into the city to one of Nico’s old haunts, whose name escapes me, but I do remember I was drinking Coopers Dark… It was also requested that I eat one of the local delicacies - a pie (not pea) floater. To be honest I wasn’t let down as it was good food to have after a few cheeky ones.
The following day was BBQ & booze skills day. Tony did an admiral job cleaning a years worth of gunge from the BBQ. I was then introduced to ‘Gordo’ who determined the gas pipe requirement by using the width of his finger & then proceeded to join me for an afternoon of Cooper’s skills. Kangaroo and sausages were thrown on the Barbie and so were some rather interesting bean patties… Much amusement and merriment was had by all.
In the evening we joined up with Gordo and Jasper for a couple more cheeky ones. After showing me his green card and proposing to me, Gordo was then whisked away by a young lady (referred to as ‘M.C.’) for a ‘walk along the pier’…
Tony & Nico left me in the pub with talk of a 6 o’clock start the next morning. I was still trying to take the edge off, which I assured them would more than likely be done over the next couple of hours. A cheeky kebab with Jasper on the way home was well needed. So as not to wake anyone up, I had a cunning plan to use the lights from our mobile phones to make our way around, but I feel Jasper was not quite up to this, as he proceeded to turn on most of the lights in the house.
The promised early start on the Sunday was not quite as early, & I staggered to the car around 7.30am. This was the trip along the Great Ocean Road, which we reached after a couple of pit stops for petrol and pies & a cunning shortcut straight out of the Markskaaa map skills bag. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and is a must see. Every stop providing more spectacular coastal vistas. Nico’s pet rescue skills also came to the fore, as she helped an echidna cross the road a little faster than he originally intended
And finally - yes finally - we managed to have some fish n chips. We stopped off in Apollo Bay & ate our food whilst admiring the hair & clothing styles of the locals....
Arrived back at the flat at 10.30pm which meant another long, long day in the driver’s seat for Nico. If they ever come into some money then I think a chauffeur should be the first thing on the list for her.

Day 12 - Last Day
A sad and melancholy day as the realisation that my trip was almost over started to hit home. Finally managed to get on the beach for a couple of hours as even though it was cloudy, it was still warm. However, spent most of the time looking at my watch and thinking that there were only a few hours left. To try & redeem my actions from the previous week, I stopped off at a cake shop in Acland St on the way back & bought what I hoped were a better selection of cakes than the last effort.
Then finally it was time to load up the car one last time and take the drive to the airport

last Saturday pyMac went to see Wolf and Cub at the East Brunswick Club. for those of you that don’t know, Wolf and Cub are a fantastic band from Adelaide (py’s hometown) who were recently signed to 4AD records in the UK. if you don’t know them or even if you do, but haven’t yet had a chance to see them, we highly recommend that you go and check them out. fantastic! and to the very selfish idiot who parked his car in front of our garage for the best part of saturday and into sunday, thank you! it meant we had to miss the last 5-10 minutes of a really brilliant live band. may karma swiftly find you!

pyMac would just like to say the 15th September marks 12 months since we said good bye at Heathrow airport. our time in Australia to date has been the adventure and fresh start we hoped for - though it remains a sad fact for us that we can’t share it with all of our friends and family who are now on the other side of the world. thanks for the support you have all given us in our decision and looking forward to seeing you all down under.

It would seem that there are big plans afoot to develop certain places in London, and not necessarily in a good way (see the afore mentioned save the Intrepid Fox campaign) and now it seems the Astoria is to be bulldozed as well. what a shame that such a landmark live music venue can be demolished. there is a petition online to save the Astoria and pyMac urges you to click on the link save the Astoria and sign. there is also planned development of the Stables Market in Camden, you can sign another petition to save this remarkable area from becoming another souless shopping centre/market. click on the link save the Stables Market and sign away. pyMac believes there are more than enough shops in London, without destorying two such important historical and cultural landmarks.

to all those people interested in keeping up to date with the closure of a very important land mark in London, the Intrepid Fox, click on the link to check out the website of the guy running the campaign save the Fox