Glenn Kelly

Well, coming back to England in the middle of their winter is always tricky.
Step 1. Make sure I keep warm. It may seem like fun getting around in shorts and a t-shirt, but even running around like it isn’t cold dark and wet outside doesn’t keep the flu away for long.
Step 2. Try and eat something fresh. Just because the fruit and veggies look like they’ve been on a truck all the way since spain doesn’t mean that they haven’t traveled even longer. I found a batlow apple here once ( batlow apples are from Australia ). And if I thought I’d had a long flight.
Step 3. Keep active, once all the sunlight juice is out of my bones, I have to make a huge effort to stay active. I can’t be solar powered in this country. I have to run off sugar, and caffeine and other friendly foods.
Step 4. Just keep on pluggin’

Ok, time for my annual post.

Firstly, everything is becoming more like a city.
Canberra has a centre that could be confused as a city centre at long last. I even got a little bit lost.
Wagga has cafe’s everywhere. When I lived there 10 years ago it was all pubs, now it’s coffee.
Even Leeton has cafes with real coffee, deli food and a woolworths. And with a really big pool, lots of space and fresh food, it’s a pretty good place to live.
Compared to living in say Sydney or Leeds UK, country NSW does feel a bit ‘away from it all’, but that shouldn’t take too long to get over.

And, in reference to a previous post, it did finally rain in Leeton. We’ve had 4-5 inches in the last few months. It’s looking green again

I finally bought a TV and a TV license in England. It’s late at night and there’s a B grade horror on now. I feel connected to the rest of the country.

Driving back from the farm with my brother, in Forbes, country New South Wales the other day, my brother exclaimed “What was that?”. He put the car in to reverse, driving back through the dust from the gravel road. Then he pointed to what was on the barb wire fence. I needed a second look, but there, just about 5 paces away, was a 6 foot long brown snake. So I got out of the car, grabbed my new camera, and took all the photos I could. I didn’t want to get too close, those things are deadly.

Christmas Day, 2006. Leeton, NSW.

The previously dry and dusty country town sees the biggest rains in living memory.

But is it too little, too late?

Well it’s that time of year again and I’m headin’ back to good ol’ aus. The same time of year that makin’ lots of words end in a ‘.

I’ve got a good friend to mind my flat while I’m in australia http://www.jennykosmowsky.com. And all’s good.

Work have been generous enough to let me work while in australia which is very forward thinking of them. So cudos to Making Plans. ( They read this blog some times, so I have to say that! ).

I’ll also be best man at a wedding while I’m away. Max Fraser and Leanne Paonne are finally tying the knot. So good for them

and I hope I can do their wedding justice.

I’m looking forward to going home, seeing mum, dad, my brother and the cat, and everyone else. But I’ll also miss England. Even if it does have crappy weather and a piss poor cricket team. I’ve got good friends here too

If anyone ever gets the chance, norway is a great place to visit. Especially in the summer cause they’ve got that cool midnight sun thing