First post home

It's exactly 3 weeks ago today that we boarded BA 012 from Singapore so I thought it was about time for an update on what's been happening.

Dealing first of all with my new(est) knee, which I feared had regressed after initially progressing well. Whether that was caused by November's regular gym work or, more likely, the lack of any exercise for most of December when I was ill, I'm not sure, but, suffice to say, it was giving me some grief when we were on holiday so Kelly kindly arranged a physio appointment for me (the day before we left Adelaide).

I was encouraged by the thorough work and analysis done by the Aussie physio - he reckoned it was mostly muscle contracture and tightness and he gave me a series of 5 daily exercises, 3 of which required the use of a foam roller, so I quickly ordered one on Amazon and it arrived in Banchory the same day we did.

In parallel with this, I've since been attending twice weekly NHS physio classes in Banchory and Aboyne. I am now showing sight signs of improvement at last, although it's disappointing that I still won't be ready to take up golf again when the season starts in just over a week.

Friday 27th February

Ross met us at ABZ and we were home again mid-morning. We made a token start to the unpacking. Surprisingly, my sleep pattern adjusted almost immediately - that's never happened before - but Jo took a bit more adjusting.

Saturday 28th February

Much unpacking, sorting and cleaning of clothes but I also began to detect that our kitchen sink wasn't draining properly. Ross and me tried everything we knew to clear it but it wouldn't budge with the usual plunger etc treatment. I reverted to Screwfix and their SCRUBB Drain Unblocker. Still no joy.

Sunday 1st March

Further attempts at unblocking kitchen sink - all unsuccessful.

Monday 2nd March

A sad day - one of my old school friends had died (brain tumour) when we were away and it was his funeral in Stirling today. Jo and I drove down, attended the service at the crem. but skipped the purvey as there was a huge crowd there and the family would never manage to get round everyone.

Tuesday 3rd March

A trip to Aberdeen for me to see the dental specialist who would try to fix the implant that broke a few months ago. The difficulty is getting the remains of the implant still in my gum out - but out it must come as it is now showing early signs of infection. Scans and X-rays were taken and my next appointment will be a 3 hour long surgery - a physical and financial big OUCH.

More enjoyable was a quick meet up with some pals at our Tuesday coffee morning, followed in the afternoon by a reasonable cycle, ending up back at our monthly golfers' beer session:

I'd missed quite a few of these sessions recently so it was good to be back.

Wednesday 4th March

Another coffee morning - different group - followed by an online (to Aboyne) physio session.

Thursday 5th March

Despite more and stronger treatments over the last few days, the kitchen sink drain remained stubbornly blocked so it was time to call out the professionals. "No bother" he said - "be out of here in half an hour". Wishful thinking. He was baffled - his electric "snake" was 25 feet long but still it wouldn't clear. He was considering going out to buy a 50 foot snake but, first, I took him downstairs and out to the back garden where he eyed a drain outlet. As soon as he started to release the cap, fluid slowly started appearing - eureka! When the cap came off completely, it was like something out of a horror movie as this "fatberg", which seemed to have a mind of its own, slithered out of the drain under its own steam. I wish I'd taken a video but all I've got was this still photo, which doesn't really do it justice:

Friday 6th March

My 77th birthday - and my car was getting its annual M.o.T. I got one surprise when our troublesome neighbour addressed me as I was about to drive away. We hadn't been on speaking terms for a while but she was very pleasant and politely told me that some of the excess water etc from yesterday's drain clearance had seeped in to a bit of her garden. "Just to let you know" she smiled - but there was a hint of menace when she also mentioned that "we've still to sort out the back". Thanks, I said and drove away.

We paid a short visit to Johanne in nearby Glen o' Dee hospital.

Sat/Sun 7th/8th March

Jo and I got to work on clearing up the residue, post fatberg, making sure no more could seep in to next door. Otherwise, pretty quiet - back to the old routine - Jo online to Mary and me meeting Colin for a couple of beers on Saturday afternoon.

Monday 9th March

I finally got to join the physio class at Banchory

Tuesday 10th March

Coffee morning and an afternoon cycle with Keith.

Wednesday 11th March

Our former footballers group used to meet every Friday night and if it was your birthday etc you had to buy a "rake" of drams for all. Nowadays the Friday night sessions are infrequent but we do now meet every Wednesday morning for coffees, cakes - and egg rolls for some. In my absence, birthdays were now celebrated here instead of Fridays - so it was my round:

Then on to Aboyne for my physio class and, in the evening, in to Aberdeen for the monthly CAMRA branch meeting.

Thursday 12th March

Nothing much to report - Jo went for coffee with Anne and I worked on more shows for River Dee Radio.

Friday 13th March

One of our thrice-yearly "Headbang" evenings at Dave's with others tuning in online from Ross-shire, Berwickshire,  the Midlands and as far away as Christchurch, New Zealand where it was only breakfast-time:

Saturday 14th March

Just the usual.

Sunday 15th March

Mother's Day. Morning is when I go to Morrison's for a few essentials and Jo goes to church. While we're both out, Gary arrives, armed with a stack of presents for his Mum plus some for my birthday. It was a flying visit so I never saw him but he popped in to church for the last few minutes and saw Jo when she came out afterwards.

Mon/Tue 16th/17th March

Usual routine - physio Monday, coffees Tuesday.

Wednesday 18th March

No coffees for me this morning because Jo and I were going to Crossroads, by Lumphanan to see about possibly replacing the gas fire in our front room with a wood burning stove. We know what we would like now but there are a few technicalities to sort out first.

I still made it to my Aboyne physio class.

Thursday 19th March

Yet another brilliantly sunny morning. The weather has been very kind to us since we've been back - not really warm yet but improving and dry and bright - I'll take that. I decided it was time to wash the car.

When we were away, we were very aware of the awful weather that stuck around NE Scotland for a few weeks. After the snow, there were weeks of rain and our neighbour's back garden clearly shows that - it's still mostly under water. One upshot of that, combined with the heavy leaf fall from the trees out front, is that the street drains are completely blocked. I've tried to clear them but it's beyond me, I'm afraid, so I contacted the Council, knowing full well what their answer would likely be - and they confirmed they can't do anything as our road is not adopted.

So I then contacted another Council department to enquire what the procedure is to adopt a private road and got a reply by email this morning. In short, it's difficult and could be expensive - and we would need the other residents to support it. Additionally, even if we did all this and the Council finally agreed, we would get our drains cleared OK but they might want to put street lighting in as well - and I'm not sure we, let alone the other residents, would want this.

Coming up

Jo's birthday tomorrow and she, Ross and me are having dinner at the Tor-na-Coille tomorrow night. On Sunday, we're heading to Kemnay's Bennachie Lodge Hotel  to do likewise with Gary and Luca.

Back in Bridgewater

Thursday 19th February

A wind-down day for us but we took a walk along the railway line to the local shopping centre and had our first coffee at the local cafe there - quaint, but nice. We'd taken our books with us and sat in the nearby park for a while, reading:

Friday 20th February

Our first visit to the Adelaide Fringe this year had been organised by Kelly - a gin cruise along the Torrens. Chris was at a pre-arranged gig so, with Matt sitting with the boys, it was just the 3 of us that drove in to the city to pick up our cruise vessel:

It was a lovely evening - much better than last year's slightly subdued affair but definitely not as riotous as the time, 2 or 3 years ago, when the staff gave up trying to control the audience and the measures and just dumped bottles of gin on the table and walked away!:

After the cruise finished we walked, a little unsteadily, to one of the central venues of the Fringe - The Garden of Unearthly Delights, where Kelly organised some Bao Buns (look it up) to help sober us up:

Saturday 21st February

Big responsibility tonight - Kelly and Chris were going out on the town and staying in a hotel, so we were in sole charge of the boys overnight. As we expected, all went well with the boys who are no trouble at all. Miller, having just returned from a few days away at school camp, was, naturally, a little tired:

Sunday 22nd February

Kelly had a board meeting in the city but Chris came home after a morning's clothes shopping. We had another Fringe show to go to in the evening - The Dark Side of the Moon - Immersive Worlds. It was the same show Jo and I had seen at the Edinburgh Fringe a decade or more ago. Held in a dome with moving images, set to Pink Floyd's classic album, displayed on the roof and around us as we lay on  beanbags on the floor. Some of the videos moved so fast that Jo had to shut her eyes or she would have been sick!

Chris, Jo and I stopped off at brewpub nearby for drinks before the gig:

It was a little disappointing and we were getting hungry - but running out of time. We were right beside Chinatown and Chris knew a place that would do some dumplings for us quickly - so that's where we went - and Kelly showed up, just in time to share a few of them.

Monday 23rd February

Chris had kindly caught the bus to work and left a car for us so that we could meet up with his Mum and Dad again in the pretty rural town of Strathalbyn. I was also on the school runs today - strict schedule - leave the house at 8:15 am - drop Miller off first, then Asher - return to pick up Jo and head to Strathalbyn. We had coffee with David and Lorene, then a wander round the town, followed by a stop at one of the bakeries to partake of Aussie pies:

We parted company just after 2 pm, in good time to pick up Asher at 3:10 pm, followed by Miller at 3:30 pm, then back to Bridgewater.

We were out again just after 6 pm for dinner at the Bridgewater Inn where Matt joined the 6 of us, so it was another Steele farewell after our meal.

Tuesday 24th February

Our last full day in the Adelaide Hills. I was doing the school runs again - Jo stayed behind to pack, launder and make sure we were organised for our early departure tomorrow. We both managed a bit more book-reading in between.

The good news is that the sale of their former house in Old Noarlunga was confirmed today - a big step forward for Chris and Kelly. Now they can concentrate on the new house build.

Wednesday 25th February

We had said our goodbyes to Chris, Miller and Asher the previous evening but we had tearful farewells with Kelly when our Uber arrived to take us to the airport not long after 5 am.

Two flights today - first, Adelaide to Darwin - quick layover then Darwin to Singapore, arriving there about 4 pm local time. We were again staying at Maxwell Reserve, the beautiful, colonial themed hotel we had stayed at on our first stop back in early January. The Club Lounge there is lovely - and our food and drinks complimentary.

Thursday 26th February

We had a full day in Singapore today as our flight to London didn't leave until 11:15 pm in the evening. We wanted to make the most of this little bonus day - we had a late check-out of 4 pm at our hotel - so we headed to the Unesco heritage Botanic Gardens - not by taxi or Grab (their Uber) but using their MRT (underground train service).

We had difficulty at first finding our local MRT station but from there onwards it got really easy. How efficient, clean and tidy the whole city/island/country is - no rubbish to be seen anywhere.

We spent 3 or 4 hours in the Gardens, a good bit of it in the wonderful Orchid centre:

We gave ourselves just enough time for a bit of lunch before heading back to the hotel to shower, change and check out. We had sussed how to use the MRT system now, showing off a little as we used 3 separate interchanges to get us over to Clarke Quay and a return visit to Brewerkz. Jo had missed out on her preferred choice of German sausages on our last visit but not this time:

After we checked out of our room we had the opportunity to partake of some more goodies in the Club Lounge but we were neither greedy nor hungry at this stage so we spent the 3 hours or so reading before our "Grab" arrived to take us to the airport - one of the finest we've ever been to - and certainly the most effiicient.

Another 3 hours in the BA lounge and finally we were on our way to London. Amazingly, I think I managed to sleep for a good few hours after our onboard meal, but Jo wasn't quite as lucky.

Friday 27th February

We arrived in London a little earlier than scheduled and sailed through immigration and security in time to allow us to visit the BA lounge (north) which was, unusually, relatively quiet. Mind you, it was only 5 am.

The flight to Aberdeen also arrived there a little early and Ross was there to take us back to Banchory.

So that is my 2026 Down Under holiday blog diary complete (and I'm still awake). It was a different kind of holiday this year, split effectively in to 8 different parts - Singapore, Darwin, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Adelaide again, Yorke, Adelaide (3) then finally and briefly, Singapore.

Yorke peninsula road trip (2)

Saturday 14th February - Minlaton

Minlaton in the middle of the peninsula was our destination for an overnight stay but we fully intended to take in other places en route - and first stop - only 15 minutes from Wallaroo - was Moonta for breakfast coffees etc. The Tourist Information centre advised us to take the short drive to Moonta Mines where a small narrow gauge railway runs round the remains of the old copper mines:

Jo probably thought she had escaped climbing on this trip but we did come across a flight of weeoden stairs that took us to the high point of the old mines - basically, a hill made of slag:

We took a tour of the old school there which was now a museum:

Time was marching on and we still had to visit Moonta Bay - and another jetty to walk:

Eventually we made it to Minlaton, which seemed like a bit of a ghost town to us, save for the fine brewery and tap room. It was a 15 minute walk from our hotel and I don't think we saw another human being - until we arrived here:

So this is where everyone is? Nice place - lots of open and shaded outdoor areas.

Back at the hotel, we opted for pizza:

We know how to celebrate Valentine's Night!

Sunday/Monday 15th/16th February

After a nice breakfast at Ye Olde Cafe, we were back on the road again. We had booked self-catering accommodation at Marion Bay Holiday Villas for 2 nights at the most southern part of the peninsula - the bottom end the locals would call it. (Darwin is known as the Top End) - but we had loads of time to get there so we took a couple of slight detours, including one to Point Turton which had been on the news for a while due to the algal bloom, which seemed to be worse here than in other places in South Australia.

No sooner had we parked the car than we spotted a local with a barrel full of fish - all dead - which he dumped in the waste bins beside the jetty. That didn't stop us notching up yet another jetty walk, nor taking advantage of another photo opportunity:

We were early arriving at our cabin next to the Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park but it was ready and so we piled our stuff in:

Once settled we decided to take a beach walk along to where the local store/filling station and hotel were. Lots of pelicans around:

I don't think they'd heard the news about the algal bloom.

Another shore, another jetty, another photo opportunity:

We ate sparsely that evening in our cabin - baked beans on toast with cheese - promising ourselves that we would dine at the hotel the following evening.

On Monday morning we took the (very) short drive to the national park. Entry is free but you have to register your car at the park office. Another jetty and fine views of Kangaroo Island. Lots of trails including one round what remained of Innestown. When we came to the end of this trail, at the head of the small lake where gypsum used to be mined, I spotted a couple of heads popping up - "oh look" said I "geese". Jo said "no - it's only ducks". As we got closer and the necks grew longer we realised we were both badly wrong:

As we got nearer we seemed to spook the emus and they came dashing out of the water and ran round us - now it was Jo who was spooked. We moved gently away and the emus eventually returned to the water.

We did eat at the hotel that night.

Tuesday 17th February - Ardrossan

Our final night on the Yorke peninsula was to be spent halfway up the eastern coast. Again we stopped on the way and - guess what? - another photo spot:

Port Vincent was an ok-looking place but Ardrossan - when we finally got there - was not. It felt run-down and short of money. We tried to do the usual jetty walk but were thwarted - no entry - works ongoing:

We decided to head out of town - to what is probably the only commercial vineyard on Yorke. Barley Stacks Wines is only 20 minutes from Ardrossan. We were their only customers and they took good care of us as Jo sampled their 5 Shiraz vintages. (I managed a half glass myself).

Dinner was back at the Ardrossan Hotel/Motel - and what a dinner it was. Rump roast, beautifully done, but the portions! Dare I say it - they were American sized. I managed just 4 of the 7 large slices/chunks on my plate - but it was lovely.

Wednesday 18th February - Adelaide then Bridgewater

The drive back was uneventful. We dropped our hire car at the airport in good time and picked up an Uber to take us back up the hills to Kelly's. A quiet evening followed. We were sleeping in Asher's room. Miller was away on a school camp so Asher had the option of Miller's bed, Chris' and Kelly's or, the one set up for him in what is occasionally used as the projector room.

Yorke peninsula road trip (1)

Wednesday 11th February - Tanunda

Uber to airport was easy but I wish I could say the same about the car hire pick-up - very seldom is it a pleasant experience. Anyway, we were soon on the road north to Tanunda, one of the first places Kelly took us to on our first trip to Oz 15 years ago. Then there was a fairly popular brewpub at the start of the town but we knew that Barossa Brewing had since gone out of business, but on our afternoon walk up and down the main street we stumbled across a brand new place - only open four and a half months - Old Mill Brewery. Based in an old building, it had had a bit of a makeover inside:

That was a welcome respite from the heat but we moved on after we'd tried most of their beers. Across the other side of the street there was what almost looked like an antique shop, with Chesterfield sofas. Turns out it was a local wines and food sampling place:

Now it was time for proper food, so back to our hotel which had looked very quiet earlier on. We got a bit of a shock when we walked in this time - the place was mobbed. We grabbed a couple of bar stools and ordered some starters - and more wine. Now time for bed.

Thursday/Friday 12th/13th February - Wallaroo

Breakfast was had at a local cafe - Darlings - then we were off again on our travels, stopping very briefly at https://www.maggiebeersfarmshop.com.au/, another place we remember Kelly taking us to back in 2011:

Driving in to the Clare Valley brought back memories of another road trip that Kelly and Chris (and Miller) took us on in 2015 - to a former sheep station at Bungaree:

Nice memories but the actual town of Clare was a little disappointing - busy but difficult to find a nice coffee shop for a short break. Back on the road, we headed through Blyth to the north west coast of the Yorke peninsula and the town of Wallaroo.

We stayed at the fairly modern Marina Apartments there - the same place that Kelly had taken the boys not long ago. The location was good and the apartment was ok - apart from terrible wifi.

We took an orientation walk. The area is called the Copper Coast for a good reason - copper was mined nearby and huge smelters - now gone - dominated the skyline of Wallaroo. It definitely had a post-industrial feel about it - but the beaches were nice, although we stayed clear of the water due to the health warnings about the ongoing local algal bloom which was killing off marine life.

Eventually, we came across a fairly new place - https://www.bondstore.net.au/ - a microbrewery, distillery and restaurant. So we had to do a paddle again, didn't we? Which one, though? We opted for beer this time, promising ourselves a return visit the following day to do the gin one. We love an outward-looking window seat for people watching:

Dinner that evening was at the Cooper's Ale House adjacent to our hotel. We ate outside overlooking the water but had to keep a beady eye open for the ever-greedy seagulls.

Back in the Adelaide Hills

The flight from the Gold Coast was straight-forward and we jumped in an Uber at Adelaide airport to take us up to what we imagined would be the outskirts of Stirling. It transpired that "The Retreat at Stirling" was several miles away and we had no car so our plan to walk in to the town was immediately scuppered.

The accommodation was nice though - Jo was delighted to see that there was a bath, identical to the one in Surfer's Paradise, with armrests! We also had access to a fine pool - available all day Saturday and Sunday but it was Monday before we got round to using it, by which time it had to be an early start before the Aqua classes arrived.

Chris and Kelly picked us up later on Saturday afternoon and we high-tailed it to Uraidla for Chris' (pre-) birthday celebrations. Miller and Asher were there as was cousin Abby and her relatively new boyfriend Dan - although none of the younger ones were at the table when I took this selfie:

On Monday, we had use of one of the cars to pick the boys up from school. Asher showed us a toy gun he had made out of Lego and then took us on a private tour of his school:

Chris' brother Matt joined us in the evening as we all went down to a lovely waterhole spot:

Jo and I had done the shopping for the picnic, including the cake, which got a little spoiled in the heat and the travel:

We had use of one of the cars on Tuesday so Jo and I took a run up to the summit of Mount Lofty, stopping first of all to take in the vast Botanic Gardens, which were lovely but involved a lot of effort as we started at the top, went all the way down and then came back up the steep slopes in mounting heat:

In need of refreshment we went to the cafe at the summit and then surveyed the city and surrounds from above.

That was the end of our brief second visit to Adelaide for the following morning we were Uber-ing again to the airport to pick up a hire car for our 7 day road trip down to the Yorke peninsula.

Gold Coast (2)

Wednesday 4th February

Morning poolside then afternoon on a river cruise. We opted for a conventional approach rather than take an Aquaduck:

The return journey was considerably enlivened by sailing along with a small pod of dolphins.

Once the cruise was over, we headed for the tram again - this time travelling south to Broad Beach and the huge shopping mall there, followed by a quick beer at the Lucky Squire then back to our resort on the tram. We ate casually in Chapter and Verse.

Thursday 5th February

Another day trip - this time south to Byron Bay across the state line in to New South Wales. Lots of photos on WhatsApp but none of them do the place full justice - it's lovely. Even our lunch at what was little more than a shack shop was very good:

We went back to the iconic lighthouse with Jo swearing all the way that there was no way she was going all the way down this time, so we mocked up a pretend photo of her coming back up exhausted:

An hour later, after changing her mind and going all the way down to the beach, here's the real thing:

There was a quick pit stop at Stone & Wood before we hit the motorway north again:

We were too tired - and sweaty - to go out again so we just ordered a couple of cheese plates and a glass of wine each from room service.

Friday 6th February

Final full day in Surfers Paradise so we spent it all at the resort - packing, poolside and a leftover cheese platter for dinner. I forgot to take any photos but Jo took a couple poolside:

Tomorrow morning we drive to the airport, drop the car off and fly back to Adelaide - just in time for Chris' birthday bash at Uraidla.