Blog Archives

Sunday Morning Catch Up!

27/11/2022

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Christmas, Home or Away? Joanne Hurst!

26/11/2022

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Exactly where I am. I know that I am quite probably in the minority, but I love England.

Joanne

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Christmas, Home or Away? Denise Dunkley!

25/11/2022

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If I could have an Xmas anywhere, it would be right here with friends and family xx

Denise

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back!

22/11/2022

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These last few days have been something of a rollercoaster, one minute we get some good news, the next nothing but. Sitting here today writing this blog, I have literally given up on predicting the future, because it is so bloody difficult at the moment.

After being told by The Commonwealth Bank that we could both get a mortgage, we decided to start looking for properties to buy. Within a few short days, we found a one bedroom unit not far from where we are now. The tiny house was small but perfectly formed, offering everything we needed and more. It was freshly decorated, had a sizeable garden and security shutters back and front. Situated in a small cul-de-sac of seven similar properties, well maintained and looked after, it would have been the perfect bolthole for us. When travelling, we could have just locked up and left, knowing the unit would be secure in our absence. To say I was quite excited would be an understatement; this was a home I wanted for us both, so we did our very best to secure it, without delay.

This was Sunday afternoon, but I duly emailed our Mortgage Advisor at the bank, and he said he would do some figure work for us when he returned from a Barbecue later that evening. In the meantime, the Real Estate Agent came over, and we made an offer of $229,000 on the property, after filling out pages and pages of paperwork. All going well, we should have been in within a few weeks - yes, that is how fast things are done here.

The next morning, I awoke with bad news; Darrell had not been in his job long enough to secure the Mortgage we wanted. He was told to submit payslips over the next few months, so they had more of an idea of his wages, and then they would think again, hopefully making us an offer for the full amount. This was not the answer we wanted, and we were both pretty deflated as we headed for a day out in Perth. Immediately we pulled out of the deal and will just have to wait a little longer before we find somewhere else to call home. In many respects it was our own wishful thinking that got us here, we were so focused on getting out of my Mothers-in-law's house, that we didn't really think about how long we had been back in Australia. It was after all only two months ago we were travelling around Thailand. The fact they offered us a Mortgage at all was a surprise. For now, we will just take one step at a time!

It wasn't all bad news yesterday. While sitting on the train to Perth I received a message from my lawyer, who said my partner application had been lodged with the Government and I needed to pay the $8085.00 (£4511.43) fee to ensure the application would not have to be resubmitted. Yes, that was a shocking amount of money to lose in one day, but I was finally on the road to residency and within a year I should be able to call Australia home. It is great news everything has started to move in the right direction, despite the high costs involved.

Within a few weeks, I should hear about my medical examination and will have to spend yet money to have it done. I was also told I could apply for my Medicare Card straight away, which I did this morning, at Centrelink in Midland. I suppose I was expecting it to be hard, having dealt with the official side of Australia before, but it was actually straight forward. After booking in at the front desk, (oddly I had an active Centrelink account) I waited no more than ten minutes to be seen, by Darlene, who spent most of the appointment coughing her guts up, to my horror. With COVID on the rise here again, I just got on with it, what else can you do now. I asked if she was alright, to which she replied (I hope so), which didn't instil much confidence in me.

She took my details and immediately told me I already had a Medicare card, and I just needed to reactivate it. This card was from 1997 and my second trip down under. I couldn't actually believe how easy it was to reinstate it. After a lot of questions about my marital status, I was good to go with immediate effect. She duly wished me luck and politely asked me to return to the office once my bridging visa kicks in, so they could make 'everything permanent,' whatever that means. Anyway, by that time, I just wanted to leave; her coughing was just getting worse and worse and I thought it was best to take my leave, no matter how chatty and agreeable she was!

With my Tax File Number also being processed, and the Bridging Visa now activated, but remaining inactive until 28th December, I am hoping the process of getting a job will be more or less pain free. The biggest concern for me now is the impending medical. As someone who tends to suffer from health anxiety on occasion, I am understandably worried about the outcome. At my age they could find anything wrong, but the hope is, I've done enough to avoid any difficulties obtaining a visa on health grounds. Putting all worries aside, I hope to live a relatively normal life until my permanent residency is granted. Then I will have the freedom to leave and go as I please; I am counting down the days until this happens, after all, travel is my life. In the meantime, it's sit tight for now, keep my nose clean and follow the rules, to ensure my transition to Australian life is as trouble free as possible. I have done as much as I can to make sure that happens; the hard bit comes next!

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Christmas, Home or Away? Janet Belcher!

22/11/2022

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Anywhere away from here, probably the Swiss alps, with a nice hunk for company of course !!!

Janet

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Staying Healthy, Keeping Fit!

19/11/2022

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With my medical examination to live in Australia looming, it is more important than ever for me to keep as fit as I can. Since October last year, I have been on a very strict diet and healthy lifestyle programme; that was way before Darrell and I decided to migrate to Perth. For that reason alone, I am in a fantastic place already, having done everything I can to stay healthy and active.

When I look back to September 2021, I weighed an astonishing 98 - 100 kg in weight and wasn't in the best place health wise. My eating habits were terrible and I NEVER, repeat, NEVER did any exercise at all. These were not the best signs for a 50-year-old on the wrong side of life; I suffered from various ailments, aches and pains, that have now disappeared. I no longer find exercise a chore and always make sure I walk at least 10,000 steps per day. This was a target I set for myself back in 2021, and I have religiously stuck to that regime, even walking when I really haven't felt like it.

My desire to finally do the right thing and look after myself has become obsessional in many ways, but that is all part of my psyche; I have always had OCD to some extent, and all I have done is channel it into something good. This is the first time in my life I have successfully lost and maintained that weight. Today I weigh 74 kg, losing a quarter of my body weight during the last twelve months. This was slow, sustained weight loss and not drastic, quick or medically dangerous. I am pleased with what I have achieved so far, but I still have a little more to do yet, before I am totally satisfied with my endeavours.

I have about 5 kg still to lose, slightly more than I anticipated, before I left the UK on my lifestyle break on 3rd September 2022. Back then I weighted 72 kg, so I have gained a few more pounds on my travels, which is understandable, and consequently have a little more to do than I expected. 5 kilos doesn't sound that much, does it? However, when you have lost as much as I have, you get to a point, where it becomes even harder to achieve. Nevertheless, I am working hard to reduce my waistline even further, so by the time I have my examination in a few months, I should have finally met my target.

I am still on a low calorie, low carbohydrate diet, and although I have increased my calorie intake from 1700 a day at the beginning of my weight loss programme, to 2100 a day now, I still think it is important to limit the amount I am eating. This has been the hardest part of my weight loss journey, trying to get the balance just right.

I eat very little fat, although I should probably eat a little more, which is the same for my protein intake; this is slightly below what it should be. My carbohydrate intake is slightly above what is recommended, and this is what I find difficult to control; I do after all love my carbs. Protein bars and yoghurts are a great way to supplement my protein intake, and they actually taste great too. In order to reduce the carbs in my diet I am reducing what I have to; For a while I was eating too many bananas each day, which are extremely high in carbs, so I have replaced these with more citrus based fruit and a generous helping of unprocessed wheat bran each morning with a bowl of porridge. Both fill me up just as well and are a little less heavy on the calories.

Due to the high cost of living, I have started to buy vegetables, blanch them and freeze on the day of purchase. I have done some research on the best ones to eat, so have bought some red cabbage and avocados to supplement my diet, while continuing to reduce my carbohydrate intake. Thankfully, I eat well over my fruit and veg allowance a day, which helps to fill me up and gives me all the essential vitamins I need.

With a reliance on 'Lean Cuisine' for my evening meal, I am well aware it isn't the healthiest option when cooking, but I still find it difficult to cook from scratch, recording calorie information on 'My Net Diary' app. This is already a time-consuming process, without adding each individual ingredient in a meal as well; it would take far too long and if I am honest, life is just far too short.

So I am in a happy and positive place where my health is concerned and doing my best to reach goals and targets, while having a day a week when I can do and eat what I like. This way of doing things is working for me, and that's what counts. I just hope all this hard work pays off, and my health continues to improve, leaving me in perfect shape for what comes next... Only time will tell!

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Christmas, Home or Away? Lorraine Dale!

19/11/2022

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'I would love to spend Christmas with all our children and grandchildren in a lovely big house in the Cotswolds!'

Lorraine

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... Talking About Houses!

18/11/2022

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With temperatures soaring in Australia, I had to do my walking in three separate batches on Wednesday, trying to avoid the worst of the heat. Still, it gave me time to talk about housing and property. Which, as you would expect, is top on my list of priorities at the moment. Time is ticking on; it won't be long before we finally buy a place of our own!

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If something seems too good to be true, it probably is!

16/11/2022

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I had an early start yesterday, getting the train to Fremantle to hand in a CV for a job in this historic town. The hour-long journey, stopping at every station, and believe me there are a lot of stations, isn't really something I wanted to do every morning, so in many respects I was glad things turned out the way they did.

On handing in the relevant paperwork, I was asked to do a test, which should have taken about an hour. Looking at it, I was dumbstruck, this wasn't the job I was applying for, this was an A level paper, and I was not in the slightest bit interested.

I want a job that pays the bills and gives me as much time to explore Australia as possible; this test was a warning, that it was a position best avoided. So I politely made my excuses and left, practically running down the road and back into the centre of Freo. To be honest, I don't care what they thought. I was looking for a job in retail, a front facing customer service role, and this was not it; it would not have suited me at all. Still, we live and learn. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is, so next time I'll be careful where I apply!

Despite a disappointing end to the morning, I made the most of the rest of the day, sitting in the 31 degree heat, quietly passing the time with a cup of ginger and lemon tea and an ice-cold glass of water, badly needed in the scorching temperatures.

I do love Fremantle as a place to visit, but I really don't think I would want to travel in to work there every day, let alone live there. Fremantle really is just a tourist destination. There are small boutique shops, all overpriced, and expensive cafés and restaurants. Yesterday, I fell out of love with the place and left hurriedly, taking the train to Perth for a spot of lunch!

I went into the Belgian Beer Café as usual to grab a pint, after walking up Murray street to get Darrell a couple of vapes for $50.00 (£28.47,) from the tobacconists. Apparently there is no nicotine in the vapes he buys, it is illegal, and I believe from what Darrell said, they use a substitute chemical instead. It does however seem to work for him, and he hasn't touched cigarettes since he has been back!

Now I have personally never vaped in my life, but it does feel rather odd, that you can sell cigarettes, but you can sell nicotine vapes.

After listening to a recent debate on Australian television, it appears the Government believe there is more research to be done on any harmful effects, before they even consider legalising it. This of course won't stop people like Darrell from smoking them, and prohibition only drives the practice underground, which is happening in states across the country.

The new summer menu is out at the Belgian Beer Café, so there was no Roast Beef Baguette, but Fish and chips instead. Usually at home in Britain I would have Cod, but here it's something totally different, Barramundi and Chips, which actually tasted lovely. It had a much stronger taste than the British equivalent and a considerably firmer texture than Cod; This was a meal I thoroughly enjoyed.

From Murray Street, I spent a few hours looking around the city, and ended up at The Shoe for a final pint of Carlton and a train ride home. With Darrell working, I've been getting to know Perth as best I can. Luckily it has a fantastic, cheap, transport system that works remarkably well. I quite enjoy spending time to myself, travelling around this city. After all, if everything goes right, I won't be doing it for much longer!

Now I know it's not Marmite, but after seeing this Vegemite and cheese ready cooked chicken in Coles on the way home, it got me thinking what I could do with Marmite instead. Like most people, I use the black stuff a lot in my cooking. Whether adding it to sauces and gravy, or putting it on roast potatoes before cooking, I use it all the time.

Vegemite is a big thing over here, there are a lot of 'spin off' products that have Vegemite in the ingredients, and although I don't personally like it, it is easy to see why. Marmite could do far better. I've messaged Julio on the chicken counter at Tesco to get lubing the chooks up with the black stuff, it tastes bloody lovely, Vegemite or not.

Also this morning on 'Sunrise,' the Ozzy version of 'Good Morning Britain,' they had a feature on ice cream, in particular Vegemite Ice cream. Now that is something I'd like to try. I have tried similar products in the UK, especially the Marmite chocolate, which I enjoyed, and I used to spread Marmite on Chocolate biscuits myself as a child, but I'm not too sure about the ice cream. Nevertheless, if I see it, I will certainly give it a go!

For now, adios amigos, have a wonderful day!