Part Two: LETTER FROM OZ....

WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY

Well, I've just weighed myself and I must say I'm pleased. I am exactly the same 

weight I was when I left for Australia. I consider this a result as I know what I have

had to encounter on my trip. Endless plane food, endless hotels & restaurants. Not 

being able to Count Calories - like my rigid scheme I have at home - has been a challenge

in itself. Now I know I am going to receive a certain amount of abuse from the 

"TOUGH-LOVERS" amongst you for not losing weight during this period. But to those

of you, who feel that way, I say: "BRING IT ON!"  I feel at peace with myself.

I am glad to be home - counting calories again - I had a delicious Hairy Bikers Light

Cottage pie last night (380 Calories) so yummy and feel so better for it!

PART TWO FROM OZ

This time it's Adelaide

So the second part of my Australian Adventure took me to the wonderful

Town of Adelaide where another Sci Fi Convention took place over the

weekend. Not before I encountered more Doc Martin Fans - this time on

my troll around China Town:

I had some time to kill before the weekend so I took a trip to a small town about an hour

outside of Adelaide called PORT WILLUNGA. Unbelievably in a local Coffee shop more

Doc Martin Fans screeched out the words "Look it's Bert!":

It was this ladie's' 50th Birthday:

Then it was on to a restaurant overlooking the sea at Port Willunga

called THE STAR OF GREECE:

This was a beautiful Restaurant:

With fantastic views of the Bay:

On the way back I stopped at a Winery:

THE WILLUNGA CREEK: BLACK DUCK

:

But, unfortunately it was closed! 

Something very interesting I learnt about a Winery

At the end of each row of vines they plant a rose bush!

White roses for white wine & yes, you've guessed it,

Red roses for red wine - Clever them Ozzies!!

This tickled my fancy I must say - the village you pass through

on your way from PORT ISAAC to TINTAGEL in Cornwall, UK

is called DELABOLE - it's a small world!

And so on to the Sci-Fi Convention in Adelaide - this,  as always, had its

fair share of seriously wacky characters:

This gives you an idea of the scale of one of these Conventions - and this was only one

Hall of a few.

Finally it was time to bid a fond farewell to Australia & head for home.

But not before I sampled the delights of a RIVER CRUISE

My sailing partner was one BARRY GREENBERG - the Booker

responsible for hiring me on the trip. Barry now lives in 

Portland, Oregon having spent most of his working life in the

Entertainment Business in Los Angeles. His fourth wife was

recently celebrating the birth of triplets. A brave man,

Barry, I wish him luck with his new family!

So well looked after on my EMIRATES Flight from Adelaide:

This time I managed to break the journey in Dubai and stay one night in utter luxury

in a hotel called: THE ADDRESS DOWNTOWN:

That building behind me went up forever - it had the ominous title of

THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD

Here is the same building at night. In the evening there is a fantastic Water Display of Fountains that goes off on the hour synced to various pop songs - crowds gather to watch nearby.

That evening I was joined by the charming & tall (!!) Verity,  for dinner at the

hotel. Verity works for a Charity in Dubai and is the girlfriend of my actor friend,

Rupert Young. (Sir Leon in ITV's hit show MERLIN)

Look what I found at the end of the Emirates Plane in Business Class:

Their very own BAR! Now that's the way to travel - wouldn't you say??

Having arrived in the UK I was soon off on my travels again - Last weekend I went to Ireland 

for a Comic Convention of their very own. And yes - bumped into my fair share of 

wacky fans again:

Captain JACK SPARROW.

The DOCTOR WHO TARDIS GIRLS

STAR WARS STORM TROOPER

I sat next to WARWICK DAVIS - the actor of STAR WARS and WILLOW fame.

Yesterday I went on my Brentford Walk-About again. This time I pottered along

to the LOCAL LIBRARY where I became a member. I sifted through a few Brentford

History Books looking for information about Brentford Docks and Canals in

particular.

Finally I wish to share with you all a rather lovely experience. The Mother of my

Children, KATE and my daughter MAISIE have been visiting my son ANGUS in

Santiago, Chile where he is the Deputy Editor with the English Speaking Newspaper,

The Santiago Times. A lucky few have been receiving delightful emails from 

Kate with glorious descriptions of her travels:

VALPARAISO

"I am writing this on a bus from Valparaiso to Santiago after spending two heavenly days in the MOST colorful city I have ever been in.

Valparaiso exceeded my already high expectations. The city is poised on a series of hills wrapped around a deep bay. It’s a working city full of life and energy; its port has been active since the 1500’s and today it is heaving with orange containers and peacock blue cranes that swing their heavy loads on and off the docks.

Poised on the hills shanties and elegant mansions with spreading verandahs jostle together in a cacophony of colour. Hot pinks, lemon yellow, faded purple and lilac, orange, burnt ochre and aquamarine tessellated against a cobalt blue sky-and add to that street art on every wall and crevice- Banksy eat your heart out. Valparaiso is rich in graffiti and  liberation. "

"A young couple smoking dope sat on the steps outside a house resplendent with window boxes-cats and dogs meandered the alleyways that thread down to the ocean.

Old funiculars (built in the late 1800s ) run up the sides of the hills like ants. Whizzing up and down at alarming gradients some almost vertical (I who never go on roller coasters had a slight moment-but the wonder of the ride outweighed my fear).

Our B and B was a beautiful old house high on top of a hill and our pretty bedroom was in a turret overlooking the bay."

"Sweeping windows opened out onto the roof and we sat with our legs dangling and breathing in the beauty. Well -I breathed in the beauty my children inhaled Pall Mall!

We explored markets and tiny cobbled streets and ate the most divine Peruvian food before we took a funicular up into the hills to watch the sunset over the Pacific.

Everything was easy and all the people we encountered were chilled and happy.

Gussies beamed as Maisie and I darted into little shops or art galleries and ooh and ahh. Maisie found a tiny café called the colour café and it was like entering a tiny magical world."

Well there it is - the end of another BLOG - my apologies for lack of a Blog last week, 

but I feel I'm back with a vengeance this week! Here's to another Calorie Controlled

Hairy Bikers Week - please do leave your Comments - I do enjoy them!