Short Blogging Break

We have moved into our long term rental house. We are going to be without internet access until November 7. So blogging will be very sparse until.then.

The weekend before last we went to Swanage and Corfe Castle and last weekend we visited Legoland on a very cold Saturday.
Photos and full summaries will be posted when we have internet access. Stay tuned

Supermarkets galore

My mother-in-law asked if I had been to any of the supermarkets here in England. Have I ever?

There seems to be supermarkets everywhere. I am aiming to try an average of one different chain a day. So far I have been to Sainsburys, Morrisons, Tescos, Wilkinsons, ASDA, Aldi, and the food Cooperative. And they all have particular foods that the kids like. The only problem is remembering where I bought the 'special' item from.

To top off my week, today I ventured to an Ikea superstore in Southampton - just near the docks where mum and dad recently berthed on their cruise ship. The Queen Victoria was in dock today.

New school

We haven't posted an entry about the kid's new school uniform yet because we don't have the uniform. The school has changed uniform suppliers and  we need to order the uniforms instead of getting them from a local shop. For the last week they have been going in jeans and t-shirts.

On Wednesday we went to school to check the sizes. Because it was lunch time, the kids were in a rush to get back and it was a real struggle to get them to try on stuff.

However there is one member of the family who is always trying to go back to school.

hello from Ben

Things Ben likes about being in Weymouth:

• meeting new friends
• seeing different things like animals -- squirrels, swans, cormorants so far 
• different toys -- newer really cool lego  and megablock sets
• sailing during school time at the National Sailing Academy
• cooking during school time
• free play every day (just joking Mrs Langford!) -- actually none at all!
• seeing the motocross show on Weymouth beach

Things Ben misses about Sydney:

• his friends
• his teacher
• his school
• his grandparents and cousins
• Weiss Sorbet -- mango, passion, strawberry
• sushi from RocknRoll

Over the side

Simon and Ben have both started their sailing lessons after being fully equipped with the latest musto gear including gloves booties and beanies. They needed it all as they both capsized twice! It was very cold and windy picking them up at the National sailing academy but I imagine it will get colder as they sail through to mid-december.

Looking for a pot of gold.

This was the view from our window when the rain cleared on Saturday

First weekend in Weymouth

We have just had our first weekend in Weymouth. Including the Friday on which we arrived we had three sunny days, with a brief shower. Most of the time has been spent buying supplies and exploring the town. The town centre is just a short walk from our short term accommodation.

On Saturday, the boys walked down to have a look at the long term rental, along the Rodwell trail, which is a path where the trains used to run between Weymouth and Portland. There was a lot of whinging (the boys are really embracing the local culture). They were eventually pacified with a pack of crisps each. During this time the girls hit the local Aldi to stock up on supplies.

On Sunday we headed into town to check out the local farmer's market and also the beach motor cross races. There were a collection of rides on the esplanade and Ben and Ella had to have a go bungee trampoline. They didn't manage to get enough rides in Hong Kong.

Not all Beer and Skittles

NEGATIVITY WARNING ON THIS POST -- NOT FOR CONSUMPTION BY SMALL CHILDREN

There has been beer so far and there have been skittles (the lolly type).  However, it hasn't all been beer and skittles. This post is just to prevent this blog from being too idealistic as if we are enjoying every minute of every day.

Some negative aspects to the journey so far:

• jetlagged 3:30am wake ups (today)
• a very excited 6 year old who has a loud voice anyway that gets louder when she's excited
• a 10 year old who's grumpy after not enough sleep and too much excitement with his cousins
• an 8 year old who constantly asks questions
• 3 hours in a car with above 3 children sitting  next to each other driving in a strange country somewhere we haven't been before
• disappointment at being too short to go on some of the rides at Ocean Park (Ben and Ella)
• not realising you need to pay cash at Aldi or use a debit card (don't get it till next week)

Still having a great time though overall........

Lost and found

While in Hong Kong Sarah took possession of Michael's work mobile phone to make social arrangements. Then Sarah boarded a Hong Kong double decker bus, travelled to the Peak and returned back to the Creagh house to find that she no longer had the phone. Sarah was in big trouble as this was Michael's work contact.

Fortunately, Sarah's friend Karen agreed to ring the bus company and the place where we had Yum Cha to find out if any phones had been handed in. Thanks Karen! And to our surprise the bus company had the phone.  Michael then journeyed on the MTR one hour each way to pick up the phone. As tiresome as this sounds, Michael seemed to enjoy the solo travel time! This also meant that we did not have to file a police report which was a requirement by the Defence Company Employer. Lucky Sarah.

Harris Family in Hong Kong

We celebrated our first day in Hong Kong by having Yum Cha with Sarah's schoolfriend Karen and her family and our Sydney friends Janet, Simon and Mia. Karen kindly organised it all for us.

On Monday Janet again joined us with Darcy and Vince Creagh for a day's outing to Ocean Park adventure world. We had a great day going on lots of rides and seeing lots of aquatic creatures.Ella's favourite ride was the Arctic Blast.



Tuesday saw us on the winding bus ride to Stanley Markets where we failed to bargain but still spent plenty of money. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the waterfront which was the highlight of the day for me. For Ben, it was his new trainers and the others it was their brand new Ipod touch case.



















On Wednesday we participated in a National Lampoon Harris/Creagh Family Disneyland Adventure. Vince Senior was trepidatious to say the least. We were just hoping to make it home in one piece with all children. This was achieved and the kids really enjoyed themselves. Claudia's highlight was meeting Tinkerbell. The boy's highlight was Space Mountain and Grizzly Gulch. Unfortunately I can't comment on these as I was too busy touring a Small World in a boat and going around and around on the Teacups which was Maz's favourite ride.

Our final day in Hong Kong was fittingly spent doing more shopping destination Mong Kok. This is a place with loads and loads of stalls selling loads and loads of the same thing with an emphasis on anything with a brand name. We bought quite a few brand name items. The brands for the day were DC (Simon), Mulberry (Sarah), DC Comics (Ben). Ella got 'heely' shoes which promise to be either a lot of fun or quite irritating depending on your point of view. Fortunately, we had master bargainer, Maz, so we didn't spend as much money as we would have without her.

On the way via Honkers

The kids experienced the joys of business class travel on Saturday, I am not sure how the other pasengers on the plane enjoyed their company. Siimon seemed to be in his element and enjoyed the reclining seats, the little pack of toiletries etc. He kept on saying that he didn,t deserve it. As it was a day flight there was not too much actual sleeping, which meant we did not get as much rest as they wanted. Sarah still managed to get in a couple of movies.

Ben and Ella had a good feed at the lounge prior to boarding. Ben had quite a few croissants and Ella was very happy that they had hash browns, which was good because Ella didn't really eat any of the airline food, except the small tub of coconut ice cream (Which was also shared with Michael)

The cabin crew were great and gave the kids lots of attention.

The big excitement when boarding the plane was the mystery pack of goodies supplIed by Deb (the Tonia Todman of Wollstonecraft). Although who gives a six yearold a torch on a plane, obviously someone who has it in for the six year old's father.

Learning the expat lifestyle

This is a photo from the first morning in HK with the cousins. Luckily the Harris children didn't wake up to early for their cousins. Notice the two computers on the table, the children's addiction to computer games still remains, although Darcy still will not take the first step and admit he has a problem

Off to Weymouth via North Ryde and Hong Kong

We have now commenced our English adventure. Our first stop on the tour is "North Ryde". Yes, we are in the Medina serviced apartments in North Ryde while we pack up the house. Next stop Hong Kong!