Advance Australia Fair ...

January is a great month in Sydney. The weather is still scorchio, people seem really happy, Christmas and NYE has just been and gone and there's the lovely Australia Day holiday beckoning on January 26th each year.
This year I hosted the ex-pats Aussies bbq in Marrickville, making full use of our super-sized deck.
It was great, and I even tried my hand at my first pavlova.
The rest of the weekend was spent pretty much at the beach, the movies and hanging out with mates - it really was one to cherish.

Fast forward to this week, and my Dad arrives from Spain (via the UK) on Saturday morning. I finish work tomorrow for a month (woohoo) and have quite the itinerary for my dad, who will turn 60 while 'down under'. I won't spoil the surprise for him by leaking our plans here - but stay tuned for updates and pics.
:-)

It's just like riding a bike ...

I'm just back from a ride on my new bike - that's it in the pic above.
As a kid I was nuts about my bike. I went everywhere on it ... to the local shops to get bread for my Nana, through the woods doing 'jumps' with my brother and sister. It seemed effortless and I loved it. It was only relegated when I discovered roller boots but that's another story.

Anyway, I can't even remember the last time I was on a real bike. I could manage 15km per day at the gym on the cycle machine, so I naturally assumed it would be a simple transition from static to moving machine.

HOW. WRONG. I . WAS.

True, I felt like I was getting a bloody great work-out (as my scarlet face - which all my new neighbours saw - would have testified) but ohmigod how much hard work was it? And I don't just mean the exercise. I broke through the pain barrier by concentrating on being petrified a car was going to run me over.
No amount of cycling proficiency badges (UK riding test all kids had to take at age 11)prepared me for the very real fear I felt at age 36 when I had to pull out at a main junction with cars coming after me every which way.

I rode home on the pavement.

The Britney Spears tribute song ...

This is one I'd love to get on our site largely because a huge part of my days are spent embroiled in exploits of Britney, LiLo, Paris etc.

Throw another shrimp on the barbie ...

This appeared in The Australian this morning ...

Migration, Jamie Oliver and the nation's passion for seafood have altered the face of Australia's barbecue culture.

The thousands who flocked to beaches and parks yesterday for New Year's Day embraced our cultural diversity and cooked dishes that would have left dad scratching his head.

At Sydney's Maroubra beach, friends Jason Fung, Howard He, Lucia Liu and Jocelyn Wang were cooking chicken breast with a traditional Chinese honey sauce, and had marinated their prawns with chilli.

Mr Fung said barbecuing was "a hot topic" in Australia, but was less popular in northern China, where he was from.

The students had planned to buy some more Aussie-style sausages "but Woolworths was closed today".

At nearby Bronte, Shun Ihara, 26, and his friend "Zacky" Matsuzaki, 30, crowded around a barbecue to celebrate New Year's Day with workmates.

They cooked sliced beef and pork with roast capsicum and carrots, and enjoyed a few snags and a couple of beers during an afternoon at the park.

Next to them, Lauretta Wiering roasted a boereworst, a spiral-shaped South African sausage.

Sydneysider Christian Prats cooked steak, prawns and corn and said the days of the snag were passing. "I'm more of a steak man," he said.

Barry Rallis, owner of The One that Got Away seafood emporium, said people were increasingly turning to fish for their summer fare.

"People like to barbecue tuna, swordfish, marlin, salmon and blue-eyed cod," he said.

"These fish can handle the barbecue. They have a larger muscle structure and they're more dense. And they cook quickly, so it seals in the flavour and moisture."

He said prawns and Moreton Bay bugs were a favourite at year's end, while snapper remained the most popular whole fish to cook.

"It's hot here," he said. "This time of year the last thing you want to be eating is meat, which sits in your body a long time."

He said his customers were buying octopus with marinades such as lemon, garlic and oregano.

Fish sausages made from salmon with roast pepper, or barramundi with lemon grass, were also becoming popular.

Happy Birthday, Happy New Year ...

We celebrated Bo's birthday in style this year. Having your birthday on New Years Eve - the day everyone can't wait to be over so they can welcome in the new year - is not always the most practical for Bo, but it was spot-on this year.
There were drinks on the roof-top terrace at Zanzibar, before an intimate dinner with Megan, Meredith, Chris, Lynnea and myself at Linda's on King in Newtown.
The food was great, the wine flowed and it really was a birthday celebration.
We all went back to Summer Hill to see in the New Year - with champers, the fireworks and lots of resolutions for the coming year.
It was great. And I HATE new year!

Given that the weather in Sydney has been scorchio in recent days, we welcomed the new year in with an early-morning dip at the Ladies Baths at Coogee.
It was a bit tough to get in, especially with the huge swell and dumping waves, but it was totally worth it once you were in.

First Christmas in the new house ...

I've been keen to have a traditional Christmas in my own home for ages, and we got the chance this year.
While many friends had headed back to the UK for the holiday season, Bo, Elvis and I welcomes Rich, Tips and Suzanne for our 'orphan's Christmas'.
Dinner was a traditional affair (turkey AND ham with all the trimmings) and Rich supplied the bubbly, Tips the Christmas pud and mince pies and Suzanne the cheese platter.
It was a lovely chilled way to spend Christmas although the boys were put to work assembling my new bike.