Well this has come out of the blue.
Helen and I received in the post today 'Court Summons' to appear before the local court to contest posession of our house. Basically we are being evicted.
After the initial panic, we found out that our lovely landlord has decided they no longer wish to rent their house to us, and want to move in themselves. And apparantly the way they have to do this is to give us 65 days notice, after which time, if we are still in the house, we are obliged to appear in court to give just reason why we are not vacating the property.
Why, oh why didn't they just give me a call, tell me that they wanted to move in to the house - even write me a letter for goodness sake. But oh, no, they have to scare the crap out of us with legal documents. Legal document that make no obvious sense. And after all, we've have been exemplorary tenants, never missed a payment, looked after the house very well.
I guess I'm angry with them for being so completely obtuse about the whole affair. I'm more accustomed to dealing with issues with openness and integrity, and these Lettings Agents are used to being treated badly, with bad tenants, and sometimes even worse landlords, so it must be par for the course to have to use these tactics. But still - come on!
It still doesnt get me over the shock of it, and we were both saying only last week how nice and settled we feel in our home. Well, here's to trauling the internet again for our next abode.....
Oh happy day....
C
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Bert Newton rocks
Hello everyone,
Sorry it's been a while. Not much has been happening since Helen's Mum and dad went home last monday.
However, we have just returned from a great night out. I applied last month for some tickets to go and see Bert's Family Feud (aka Family Fortunes for us pommies) being filmed in Melbourne. I was surprised to get a mail telling me that had accepted our application and to expect a fun night.
Little did I know how much fun it would be. Watched the filming of three episodes, over around about 4.5hrs. During this time, we had a chap as the 'compere' who was supposed to keep us going at full speed and full voice for the four hours. we were primed as to when to shout up, and when to shut up, and at each 'CUT' there was a lot of banter between the audience and the man himself, Bert.
What made me chuckle was as ll the little lap-dogs who were 'servicing' bert - at every stop between filming, this very camp looking (quite old) bloke would come on stage, with a little box containing a diet coke and a bunch of make up - he re-touched him and checked his hair (or wig, should I say) 'Mr Teasy Weasy' style (jon - you'll get that joke!!) Was very funny.
We didn't get any of the prizes they were giving out, even if they were a bit on the paltry side - one person won an emergency poncho.
One good thing is this - in the up and coming season of family feud, they will be running a competition called Where's Bert, where people can download face mask of Bert and the idea is to take a picture whilst wearing the mask, email it in to Channel 9 and be entered in for a chance to win $500!
Well, as priviledged guests of the show, we were given a buch of these before they are available to the general public. I want your help - if you can think of somewhere interesting of comical where a picture can be taken of Bert, let me know, and I will send it to you to take that picture. If we win, I will share the winnings! It can be anywhere, like at the Great Piramids of Giza, Hoover Dam, the Statue of Liberty. Or get creative - on the dancefloor whilst dancing to 'Staying Alive'. You get the picture....
Anyhow, I better get off, We're off to Perth tomorrow, I'm working for the week and Helen is coming along for a little bit of a holiday.... more soon
C
Sorry it's been a while. Not much has been happening since Helen's Mum and dad went home last monday.
However, we have just returned from a great night out. I applied last month for some tickets to go and see Bert's Family Feud (aka Family Fortunes for us pommies) being filmed in Melbourne. I was surprised to get a mail telling me that had accepted our application and to expect a fun night.
Little did I know how much fun it would be. Watched the filming of three episodes, over around about 4.5hrs. During this time, we had a chap as the 'compere' who was supposed to keep us going at full speed and full voice for the four hours. we were primed as to when to shout up, and when to shut up, and at each 'CUT' there was a lot of banter between the audience and the man himself, Bert.
What made me chuckle was as ll the little lap-dogs who were 'servicing' bert - at every stop between filming, this very camp looking (quite old) bloke would come on stage, with a little box containing a diet coke and a bunch of make up - he re-touched him and checked his hair (or wig, should I say) 'Mr Teasy Weasy' style (jon - you'll get that joke!!) Was very funny.
We didn't get any of the prizes they were giving out, even if they were a bit on the paltry side - one person won an emergency poncho.
One good thing is this - in the up and coming season of family feud, they will be running a competition called Where's Bert, where people can download face mask of Bert and the idea is to take a picture whilst wearing the mask, email it in to Channel 9 and be entered in for a chance to win $500!
Well, as priviledged guests of the show, we were given a buch of these before they are available to the general public. I want your help - if you can think of somewhere interesting of comical where a picture can be taken of Bert, let me know, and I will send it to you to take that picture. If we win, I will share the winnings! It can be anywhere, like at the Great Piramids of Giza, Hoover Dam, the Statue of Liberty. Or get creative - on the dancefloor whilst dancing to 'Staying Alive'. You get the picture....
Anyhow, I better get off, We're off to Perth tomorrow, I'm working for the week and Helen is coming along for a little bit of a holiday.... more soon
C
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Red Centre
Whilst mum and dad are still asleep, (lazy bums!), I thought that I might have time to write abit more about our trip to the centre of Australia. I really wasn't sure wht to expect from this trip, other than constant heat, but I knew that it woulod be busy busy busy- and that it was.
Our first stop was Ayers Rock, or Uluru, depending on who you speak to. WE drove out to seethe rock from the resort and were suitabley amazed. It is way bigger than it looks on TV and seems to follow you no matter where you drive in the area. We watched both sunset and sunrise overthe rock although unfortunatley the Sounds of Silence dinner, whihc is supposed to be amazing, was cancelled because of rain! Just after sunrise, and despite the notices from the aboriginals askig them not ot, we saw hundreds of people making their way to the top of thje rock. I found it very sad to watch them, not because I believe that the stone has any religious powers or significance but merely because it seemed to me that they wre dessicrating a thng of natural beauty. IT also looked very dangerous to climb the rock as it is pretty steep in places and people were haveing to use all 4s to get up!
Whilst Uluru was stunning I thik my favourite thing in the Ayers Rock national OPark was actually the OLgas, another set of big rocks that don't get talked about as much. This feature is made up of lot of huge, more rounded rocks that kind of join together to make one huge rock feature. We walked right out in to the middle of two of these rocks, despite the 45 degree temperatures. I found the shape of the rocks amazing and more interesting in a way than Uluru itself.
Having seen more than enough of the big rocks we set of to ALice Springs, going the back way so as to beable to have a slight detour at Kings Canyon. Unfortunatley, what we did not realise was that this detour meant that we spent near on 3 hours on a dirt track road. WE bumped and jostled all the way to Alie Springs, mum and I got mildly hysterical at a few points!! However, going this was did have its advantages, we saw loads of wild camels, horses, a few cattle and a yak! Very exciting.
Alice Springs itself was just a little town, and in places quite a rough one. I knew that there were problems with aboriginies here but I didn't realise quite how severe unitl I saw them all lying around at the sides of the road. Now don't get me worng, I am not a racist, but any collection of people just hanging around can start to look threatening, especially when there are empty booze bottles lying right next to them. The 4 of us spent a lot of time debating what could be done bout this problem, but to be honest, it seems a very tricky question to answer and many of our ideas have already tried and failed!
However, we did enjoy seeing the Flying Doctors base and the School of the Air. The School of the Air is where children in remote Australia are taught through broadcasts on the radio, or, more frequently now, on the internet. It is a very clever system and we all enjoyed the little museum.
We also enjoyed spending some time by the pool at the hotel!
Well- hats about all I have time to write about- but am sure Chris will want to blog some more about the storm we saw in Alice amonst other things!
Love Helen***
Our first stop was Ayers Rock, or Uluru, depending on who you speak to. WE drove out to seethe rock from the resort and were suitabley amazed. It is way bigger than it looks on TV and seems to follow you no matter where you drive in the area. We watched both sunset and sunrise overthe rock although unfortunatley the Sounds of Silence dinner, whihc is supposed to be amazing, was cancelled because of rain! Just after sunrise, and despite the notices from the aboriginals askig them not ot, we saw hundreds of people making their way to the top of thje rock. I found it very sad to watch them, not because I believe that the stone has any religious powers or significance but merely because it seemed to me that they wre dessicrating a thng of natural beauty. IT also looked very dangerous to climb the rock as it is pretty steep in places and people were haveing to use all 4s to get up!
Whilst Uluru was stunning I thik my favourite thing in the Ayers Rock national OPark was actually the OLgas, another set of big rocks that don't get talked about as much. This feature is made up of lot of huge, more rounded rocks that kind of join together to make one huge rock feature. We walked right out in to the middle of two of these rocks, despite the 45 degree temperatures. I found the shape of the rocks amazing and more interesting in a way than Uluru itself.
Having seen more than enough of the big rocks we set of to ALice Springs, going the back way so as to beable to have a slight detour at Kings Canyon. Unfortunatley, what we did not realise was that this detour meant that we spent near on 3 hours on a dirt track road. WE bumped and jostled all the way to Alie Springs, mum and I got mildly hysterical at a few points!! However, going this was did have its advantages, we saw loads of wild camels, horses, a few cattle and a yak! Very exciting.
Alice Springs itself was just a little town, and in places quite a rough one. I knew that there were problems with aboriginies here but I didn't realise quite how severe unitl I saw them all lying around at the sides of the road. Now don't get me worng, I am not a racist, but any collection of people just hanging around can start to look threatening, especially when there are empty booze bottles lying right next to them. The 4 of us spent a lot of time debating what could be done bout this problem, but to be honest, it seems a very tricky question to answer and many of our ideas have already tried and failed!
However, we did enjoy seeing the Flying Doctors base and the School of the Air. The School of the Air is where children in remote Australia are taught through broadcasts on the radio, or, more frequently now, on the internet. It is a very clever system and we all enjoyed the little museum.
We also enjoyed spending some time by the pool at the hotel!
Well- hats about all I have time to write about- but am sure Chris will want to blog some more about the storm we saw in Alice amonst other things!
Love Helen***
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Hello from the Alice
Hey everybody, just managed to get online for a few minutes, so wanted to say Hi, and to let you all know we'll be back in a couple of days. We have had a superb time here in the 'red centre' Ayer's Rock was amazing, pretty much all we expected. Our trip across the interior was awesome, we certainly didn't expect to see dozens of wild camels, horses and huge lizards basking on the road.
To top the day off yesterday too, we came into Alice in the dark into the middle of the BIGGEST storm I have ever seen! There was apparently so much rain that the usually completely dry Todd River was in full flow this morning, closing the road across it!
Anyhow, I better go, there is a thai restarant in the hotel, and we are ready for some decent food!
See you soon
C
To top the day off yesterday too, we came into Alice in the dark into the middle of the BIGGEST storm I have ever seen! There was apparently so much rain that the usually completely dry Todd River was in full flow this morning, closing the road across it!
Anyhow, I better go, there is a thai restarant in the hotel, and we are ready for some decent food!
See you soon
C
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
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