Maybe the sun will shine today

I hoped it would, and for much of the day it did. Unfortunately it was the "much of the day" portion spent at the office. The rain greeted me at the South Bank as I met the rellies for a ride on the London Eye this afternoon. Third time for me but still a joy to see London in landscape; a joy shared by the rellies more used to rashies, white sand and sunshine. Everyone should look up more when they walk the streets of London; there is so much to see that is more interesting than the pavement.

A song I love, from Wilco's Sky Blue Sky album (a true Pacuare fave) kept going through my head - "Maybe the sun will shine today" A very appropriate song for a family heading to Legoland tomorrow.

The Ozzies- our week so far

As mentioned by Si (out goes the formality of Simon), our "rellies" arrived on Saturday morning, to rain. The rain has certainly been a continuing theme and luckily the jet lag and novelty of arriving in England (from chilled out, "life's a beach so grab your rashie", Samson, Perth) has yet to wear off. As a result everything we say and do is a Pommy inspired revelation and adventure; we are doing our bit for the rise of Pommy "barracking". In terms of things to do in the Woking area on a rainy day, with plenty of children: Wisley Gardens, the place still rocks on a rainy day and I applaud the new greenhouse (more so than Si - though Ms Crotchety "Wisley Whinger" did cause an enjoyment blip for me too); Mercedes Benz World (so cool if you are over 5 and happen to arrive on the day you can sit in the 316k Mercedes/ Mclaren SLK somethingorother with your two Ozzie twin-7 year old nephews); Nemo and the other fish at any garden centre that happens to tolerate browsing families on grey and grotty days; picnics under umbrellas (just keep the rolls dry and promise hot chocolate for when they get home); trains to London (children love trains, especially those taking them to a new place while they eat cake); Woking Lesiure Centre (the slides are worthy of any water park I've been to - not that I've been to many, though you can take your pick in Northern Crete); baking yoghurt cake and chocolate sponges; getting the neighbours around; music; laughter; story telling and wine. Gosh! What with outings, journal keeping, homework and creative ways of drying the laundry of 8, we've had a pretty kiddy happy 3 days - rain has not stopped play, yet!

Note1:

Regarding train travel; can we please place the "Bah Humbug to Children Travelling where I can see them" brigade in the same category as the Wisley Whingers. Five well behaved children looking out of a train window and giving an occasional squeal of delight is surely a sparkle of sunshine on a rainy day rather than a crime justifying further frown creases and angry whispers. If you don't want to travel with the future then please do enjoy a first class seat in the rush hour commute; a combination which is too cost prohibitive for a family outing to infiltrate your space.

Note2:
Have just re-read this missive - the statement "getting the neighbours around; music; laughter; story telling and wine" could become a "phrase of common usage" on Pacuare People. The short hand for such frivolity is TWS - the "Turnoak Wine Society". Plenty of TWS insights to come. It's the codename for a collection of like-minded friends getting together and having a good time. As for wine, tonight I can recommend the Buckingham Estate, Reserve Shiraz from Western Australia. I missed the "minty high notes" but the spicy berry fruit was there to savour; at a £3 discount from a certain chain supermarket I'm almost tempted to put down a bottle to "develop with age", though we don't seem to be very good at that in the TWS.

Note to self:
My next post will be short.

A New (Aussie) Vocabulary

A rashie apparently is a type of swimwear. My family from down under were very surprised at my ignorance. I made it clear that rashies weren't compulsory at Woking's Pool in the Park, but it seems they won't go swimming without them.