Beryl not enjoying the cold...

It seems that I'm not the only one finding it hard to get up and moving now that the Australian winter is upon us. It would seem that having been treated to lots of nice things lately that Beryl still isn't happy.

I think that the starter motor is on the way out much in the same way that Stan's was, which we eventually replaced thanks to you JP! While I wait for him to travel out from the UK I'll be carrying the essential VW vintage starter motor encouragement tools just in case. This technological tool kit consists of a blanket to lay on the ground and a hammer!!!!

I'm actually thinking of selling out of the VW scene, growing up a little and getting a proper car like everyone else. At the moment there is nothing worse than a walk to the garage with the nagging doubt that it ain't gonna start again. This coupled with the fact that there isn't any social scene attached to having a VW like their is in the UK, which is what its mostly about for us.

At the moment she has 12months rego after the inspection and 12months insurance attached to her that will transfer to the new owners, which makes her a more attractive proposition for buyers... watch this space!

Being a Parent...

After being parents for 362 days it's time to reflect on what we have learnt!

If only babies came with instructions!... I guess Beth and I have done the things that have felt right at the time and in most cases things worked out fine. For those of you new to the parenting thing or just thinking about it this short but informative slide show should prove useful...

Nite Nite...

Tuesdays and Thursdays leave Alfie pretty much exhausted after a day on his feet at Norma's. Heres a sweet picture of Alfie tonight immediately after his bottle...

Check out my school uniform....

Today was the first day back at school with the children, who were all looking smart in their winter uniforms. But they weren't the only ones looking dapper! We had an ANZAC assembly (.. like remembrance Sunday!) and so it was corperate dress for staff. So it was school shirt, tie and blazer for me.... What do you think?

Beryl Rides Again...

For those of you that have been having sleepless nights after I blogged the current plight of Beryl and her Rego woes, I can put your mind at rest... the great news is that she rides again! This will come as a relief to Ross at work who was starting to think that my suggested car sharing plan for this term was an elaborate get out of jail free card for when she was scrapped!



She now comes complete with new oil, an accelerator pedal, a new tyre, a bodged roofing lining (...I have longer term plans for that!!!) and a pass certificate. All for the princely sum of £232! ... which is less than we'll be spending on the Yak this year which will cost us that in tyres alone (... beetle tyres small like a rubber bound shirt button and therefore much cheaper!!!)

One change I'm not sure about is the lifting of the suspension... it will take a little getting used to. I can now actually drive straight up the drive without fear of getting stuck like this!!

The Simpsons...

We became the Simpson's last Thursday to celebrate Amy's birthday. We'd spent Wednesday across the road erecting a huge tarp in the garden to keep the rain off which worked a treat. Then it was face paints on and the use of foam camping mats, charity shop dresses, swim hats, plastic tubing and a pillow to complete the look.

Amy and Mitchell always put on a good party and this one didn't disappoint, lots of food and even more drinks. A drop of alcohol has yet to pass Beth's lips since this event... I'll say no more!!!!

... Doh!



... Marge and Maggie!



... Strawberry Shortcake and Popeye!

The open road...

With a rare glimpse of the sun it was out onto the open roads... well cycle track anyway! Alfie seemed to enjoy the views that trips around the living room simply couldn't offer! He enjoyed shouting out dogs and waving to people as they passed... often accompanied by a cheery "bye bye!"

What a twelve months...

With little over a week until Alfie turns one its time to take a look back at the last twelve months. I guess its not surprising that Alfie has become the star attraction of this blog and the subject of thousands photographs. It's hard to imagine our lives without him, in fact we struggle to remember what it was like before that day in May. We feel that we have really settled into family life and enjoy the smiles, laughs and happiness that raising an Alfie can bring.

Some of you may remember the monthly videos that I used to create? You might also have noticed that they disappeared about eight months ago!!! They were pretty time consuming to create and keeping the blog ticking over is enough work what with everything else. However I couldn't let this special moment in his and our lives pass without another. So sit back and enjoy...

New wheels...

With the weather so bad it's been inside only rides on Alfie's new wheels. We bought it with all the loose change we'd been saving in the camper van money boxes! It amounted to quite a bit after nearly a year of saving...

Its a cool bike that should take him all the way through until about three years old. At the moment he's in the under 12mnths set up with harness and parent push handle etc but in the future he should be able to power himself!

There are limited cycle routes within the house and few pictures of Alfie smiling while on the bike, it's not that he doesn't like it it's just that every time we stopped to try and take a picture he got a little agitated!!!

... Alfie arranges social calendar!



... Seatbelts on ready to roll!



... Hang on I've stopped moving!



... Waaaaaaah!

Alfie month by month album...

Check out the Alfie month by month album on my Facebook.

Non Facebook friends will have plenty of time to click on this link...

Facebook Album Link

Splish Splash...

Ask any Australian and they will say that they like nothing more than listening to Poms winge-in about the weather... well this holiday we have had plenty to winge about! On the first weekend of the two week break I went to Bunnings to get some decking oil and roof paint... it then rained solidly for two weeks!

Fed up with sitting inside waiting for things to improve it was wellies on and outside to splish splash in the puddles, here are the soggy results!

Getting Around...

Heres a nice video of Alfie getting out and about in the garden, walking, pulling leaves off plants, getting sandy and trying to attract the attention of anyone who will listen...

Hillsborough Hornets...

The Hillsborough Hornets got the season off to a winning start after winning one, drawing one and losing one of the three pre-season games. It was a tight game against a good team who were missing one of their players. We were also missing Beth for some parts of the game to be with Alfie. Normally its the substitutes duty to supervise our mascot but with the bare minimum of players it was all hands to the pump!!!

Fashion Show...

With Matt's return from his work trip in Sweden via the UK came bundles of clothes for Alfie from Nan and Gramps (... as well as a something for Mum and Dad). Alfie was forced into an impromptu fashion show to model his new clothes...

... and to prove it wasn't all smiles!!!

Creative Mum...

Beth has been busy creating this little "Cosmonaut Devil" this morning. I think he has been ear marked as a gift for someone, but he could be the first of many!

New additions to the family...

Alfie loves animals.... only this morning he spotted the neighbours cat walking along the deck and he was shouting out to it before crawling towards the door! He also loves dogs and isn't shy in wanting to get his hands inside their mouths to pull on some canines... we think he is starting to make dog noises but he makes them for any animal we're not sure!

He also likes birds and we often take Alfie across the road to Dave and Tracey's to check out their parrots, budgies and chickens. We were delighted when they gave us a couple of Peachface Love Birds which hatched this Summer. The two boys (Starsky and Hutch!... Beths's names!) seem to have settled in well. They are pretty noisy particularly in the mornings so having them in a cage outside has come as something of an early morning relief.



They are quite small maybe only 15cm in length and are starting to get their adult feathers. They seem to do everything together and even give each other a shoulder to sleep on at night.

Little Hairy Monster...

"What's doing Down Under" might as well have been called "What's Alfie up to now!" over the last twelve months. Still he has been the most constantly changing thing in our lives as we settle into something nearing a normal routine life!

Alfie has obviously changed a lot but a look back at the achieves (thousands upon thousands of photo's!) show the variety of hairstyles that he has sported over the last twelve months...

There was the dark Beckham Mohawk...



... then the short period of hair loss (Still waiting for mine to grow back!)



... followed by the mullet!



Obviously with Alfie looking increasingly like ...



... something had to be done! So yesterday he was taken to the hairdressers for a trim. Here are a few slides of this fantastic folical event! Apologies for the blurred shots but as you can imagine Alfonso wasn't keen to sit still for long!
Parents of small children will note the Wiggles smock.

The finished result.... very smart!



Any follow up comments to this post relating to my hair or lack of are easy cheap shots and therefore unnecessary! ;0)

Rules is rules...

Being the owner of a car forty five years young means that the yearly inspection for registration or Rego (Like all words it obviously is shortened and has -o added for Australians to use in everyday conversation!!) is rarely a pleasurable one. People don't tend to part with these iconic vehicles without good reason... the yearly inspection however is a good reason for some! Some will remember Stan bought with only three months on the MOT, three months and £1,600 later he was back on the open roads of Devon!!!



Still it was lesson learned when we arrived here and Beryl came complete with a twelve month ticket which expires next month. So yesterday it was off to the garage. The mechanic sent us away with tail between legs to sort somethings out before a test can take place. Apparently...

1, A skateboard wheel is not an acceptable replacement for an accelerator pedal.
2, You need enough clearance between car and road so that you can drive over a Coke can.
3, The headlining in the interior does still need to be attached to the roof of the car and not "hanging down" in places.
4, The drivers side front tyre needs grooves in it!

... yes there are still some jobs-worth mechanics out there! It is worth noting that we also broke down at the garage and "ran aground!" when trying to push her, we did get going again however without the help of any experts!

Beryl is off to the VW garage next to have some of these things sorted next week... anxious times!

Class of 07...

Most of Alfie's buddies are now past the one year mark, Alfie is the youngest of his little group. However he loves spending time with his more experienced peers as he learns so much from them! No sooner has he seen them doing something he's up having a go himself.

Here are some pictures of their latest gathering down at the park...

Alfie's guide to settled sleep...

Step 1: Find a comfortable place to sit. Then wait for the big people to bring you the bottle...



Step 2: Sit back, relax and suck on the bottle. Mum and Dad now give me Moo Cow Milk!!



Step 3: ZZZZzzzzzzz ZZZZzzzzzzz ...

Newcastle Show...

On Saturday we went to the Newcastle show to see what the fuss was all about. It was canceled last year and so this was our first opportunity... Most people in Newcastle were given the day off on the Friday to attend (including Beth!) while those working outside of Newcastle (i.e. me!) worked on!




There was plenty to see and do although we failed to take many pictures. There were lots of animals that were popular, rides, hotly contested jam making competitions, horse events and pro (term used loosely!) wrestling! It was great to spend some quality time together after being so busy for the last three weeks.

Butter wouldn't melt.....

Rockpool Rambles...

Alfie loves nothing more than a good ramble through the rocks on the local beaches and a clean up of mum's camera phone proves the point. Take a look at these lovely slides...

LEJOG update...

Not much to report on the cycle front of late with the camp etc, but I am still getting there. I have now cycled a total of 652km arriving in Miller's Dale.

Miller's Dale grew up in the mid 19th century to provide housing for the rail men and quarry workers and their families and had a large railway station which served the local villages and industries alike. It was part of the Midland Line linking Buxton to London. ... thats about as exciting as it gets!

A postcard...



The progress map...


View Larger Map

Such is the progress that you have to click on the larger map link to see the route!!!

Big Foot...

If you apply the principle that a puppy with big feet will grow to be a big dog to Alfie then he might turn out to be taller than his daddy! With the change of seasons well under way its time to get Alfie into some shoes, which is easier said than done as he been something of a barefoot boy until now.



It would seem that the opportunity to see him in cute little booties are over after this weekends shopping trip. By measuring his pasties up against the back of the shoe boxes he is already in shoes designed for 18-24 month year olds. When you add this to the fact that he is also wearing clothes for 18-24 month year olds you can see that he is quite sturdy. As someone said the other day "You should see Alfie, he's quite a unit!"