Pastures New...

Yoohoo!

  Hellooooo!

    I'm over here!

   Coooooeeeee!!!


Now that I have your attention...

Gidday HQ has moved to pastures new.

Last weekend there were keys to exchange, cupboards to clean, movers to step around and goodbyes to say as I farewelled my little front window, climbed aboard the moving van and set off to begin a new chapter on the other side of the river.

As with all good moves, not everything went according to plan but I have arrived and can confirm I am safely ensconsed in the North London suburb of Finchley.

Day 1 - Morning: Many many many boxes to unpack

Day 1 - Evening: Kitchen done!

That's not Finchley Road peeps (which does not go through Finchley as the name would suggest but rather skirts past West Hampstead in the south). Or East Finchley, lovely though it looks from the tube as it emerges into the night air on my commute home. Or even North Finchley, which is actually one stop too far.

No it's Finchley peeps. Sometimes known as Church End but really, it's just Finchley. Bit like 'just Kym' (no it's not short for Kymberley). But I think I will call it Fabulous Finchley for I am determined that life's next chapter will be filled with all things fabulous.

So yesterday it was time to explore my new neighbourhood (that is the one beyond my easy 5 minute commute to the station....ah bliss!)

Let's start with a stroll along the street where I live...

The street where I live - look at that Autumn colour!

As I reached the main road (you can just see it in the above  picture if you squint hard enough), I decided to venture right towards North Finchley where, rumour had it, there would be a Carphone Warehouse outlet for me to kit myself out with a dongle. I was having withdrawal symptoms and missing you all dreadfully without internet at home!

Luxury Desserts - what's not to like?

A little further along I came across a grassy stretch...

An unexpected patch of green right by the road.

...which actually heralded the entrance to local bowls club.

Doesn't this make you want to kick up the leaves and hear them rustle underfoot?

A bit further on, the spires of the local church pierced the cloudy sky...

The local...church I mean

...and before long, I was in the midst of the hustle and bustle of North Finchley.

Desperately seeking dongle (and door stops actually) as I was, I gave a cursory glance to the myriad of fruit markets, continental food stores, factory outlets and tat shops that spilled out onto the footpath. Until a sweet, sweet sight brought a smile to my face...

Mr Simms is in North Finchley too!

Remember this discovery last Christmas?

Mr Simms in Kingston - a joyous discovery last year

Anyway, this is where the photos stop because by the time I bought my dongle, finally found door stops in Robert Dyas, stocked up on a few essentials at Boots and spent £9 on - yes, you guessed it - tat, I was on my way to that English bastion of all things delicious, Waitrose. Where I bought more stuff.

Which meant more bags (supplied by moi of course - we love to reuse) to carry home. 

Which meant the bus - 10 minutes to go 5 stops versus the 25 minute bag-free wander north earlier.

I think I'm gonna like it here.

Aah, Finchley.  Fabulous already!

A Place For All Seasons...

Two sleeps.



 That's right peeps. Only two sleeps to go.

I have two sleeps left in Kingston.

Nestled under the currently thinning winter canopy of the tree that has, for almost seven years, shaded the highs and the lows of this Australian abroad.

It has been my haven.

An oasis, tucked away at the top of the winding street.

A spiritual home.

Summer Shade

A place of happiness and heartbreak.

Of worry and frustration. Of peace and calm.

Autumn Colour

A place for all seasons.

 Where I succumbed to my love of books, brilliant skies and bracing British winters.



Winter Sunset

Where I wrote my first blog post, discovered the joys of an afternoon spent baking and picked my first blackberries.



A Burst of Spring

And it's almost time to go.



To leave my cosy front window.

To tap away in pastures new.

That's right peeps. Gidday HQ is on the move.

 

Done and Dusted...Commuting Gems

This week, about 10 weeks ahead of schedule, I smashed the 50 Book Challenge.

That's right peeps - I've read 50 books this year.

(Actually this morning it stands at 51 but who am I to quibble over such a detail?)

Along the way, I unearthed some real Commuting Gems, writers that will continue to feed my long and literary journey to and from work every day. Douglas Kennedy made the grade early - I have read three of his books this year - closely followed by slightly off-centre crime fiction from Chris Brookmyre (I've read two of his). More recently, I discovered the joys of Jonathan Frantzen, Jo Nesbo and Scott Mariani and have already started my next Ben Hope Adventure (Mariani's protagonist).

I have also travelled far and wide from the comfort of my reading spot(s) - through the post 'et tu Brutus?' period of the Roman Empire (Colleen McCullough) and in a black cab across America with the incomparable everyman himself, Stephen Fry. I have immersed myself in the cultural melting pot of a Russian community in China with Kate Furnivall and stood in awe of the great and mighty Vesuvius with Robert Harris.

Let's not forget the little bit of star-spotting l managed either. I rubbed literary shoulders with Sir Elton, Alistair Campbell, Billy Connelly, Jane Austen and young Queen Victoria!

The stalwarts of my literary days gone by were there too - Lionel Shriver, Michael Connelly and Dick Francis (although after three of the latter, I might say nay - neigh, geddit? - to a Francis horse-racing extravaganza for a while).

I've also dropped in on old favourites like Heathcliff & Cathy and Meg, Jo, Beth & Amy. I read about risk and danger, and about a girl who played with fire and then made things worse by kicking the hornet's nest. 

I've even managed both a trip back to old Melbourne town (courtesy of Christos Tsiolkas) and a joyful celebration with fellow expat Bill Bryson, of the fabulous place I now call home.

Who knew that commuting four hours each day could bring such joy! 

Not all was smooth sailing (or commuting if you prefer). Three made my 'Disappointing' List - number 6 from Margot Berwin, number 15 from David Gibbins and 39 from Dawn French. Not so marvellous. But 3 out of 50 (that's just 6% says she, whipping out her trusty calculator to double check her mental maths) ain't bad. And look at all of the things I have experienced and discovered.

So if you've been inspired at all by my bookish banging on, or are looking for some great reads to add to your own (e)bookshelf, you can see them all - along with what I thought of them - at The Book Nook which, in the spirit of encouraging readership and literacy, I will continue to update.

Happy reading peeps!

A Very Chicky Birthday

Today is Lil Chicky's birthday.

So I thought I'd tell you a birthday story.

The first one was fraught with competitive friction.

This young whippersnapper had the front to question her big sister's attempts at teaching birthday best practice

Her (L) and me (R)

 But it wasn't long before she got the hang of it 

Sisterly pride in the background

And tried to muscle in

'What's the deal? It's my birthday, not yours!'

So I had to re-assert my authority

Birthday territory re-established

And by the time we got to her 21st, we had learnt to share

21st birthday of Lil Chicky (in the green dress)

So we played happily together

Outside Flinders St Station in 2005

for ever

Anzac Day Match at the MCG 2007

 and ever

At Sand Sculptures in Frankston, December 2010

Happy Birthday Chicky!