Time for another update, methinks, while it’s all fresh in my head.

Yesterday, was Easter Monday, the anniversary of the day in 1876 that six Irish Fenians escaped from Fremantle Prison, here in WA, to America, aboard the ship Catalpa. We know this because yesterday we were down in Freo and took the time to take a look around the prison. Some readers may remember me writing about Fremantle Prison last time I was down here in Australia, so I won’t duplicate information here. I can’t recall (and I’m not hooked up to the Internet at the moment, so I cannot check) if I wrote about how good the fish and chips at Cicerello’s are; I personally think that they are among the World’s finest. And I’ve had fish ‘n’ chips in Whitby!

This time around in Freo, we had the opportunity to explore a bit further, taking in the Round House and the flea markets. A also insisted that we paid a visit to a bar called the Sail and Anchor, where they brew their own beer. A fine recommendation, I say! Should you be in town, I recommend the white beer named after the local Aussie Rules Football team, Dockers. Most tasty.

On the subject of taste, we indulged in another fine meal that evening (you’ll note a recurring theme, here) as we went to the Chinese restaurant at the Burswood casino, before cleaning up on the game Two Up (heads and tails, for the uninitiated).

Today was another gorgeous day weatherwise. We went shopping in Morley at the Galleria shopping centre. Groceries and postcards and the like. We stocked up on a picnic for tomorrow’s activities. Having done all of our shopping and having called my credit card company after a small breakdown in communication, we headed off to Caversham Wildlife Park, which has moved to a much larger site since I was last in Perth. It was good to see that kangaroos, koalas and wombats are still every bit as cute as they were some three years back.

An early night is in order tonight. Not only have a few late nights catching up with old friends taken their toll, but the alarms are set for ludicrous o’clock tomorrow morning (probably as our friends back in the UK are retiring tonight). We have to be up in the City before eight o’clock in the morning to board a bus to Cervantes and The Pinnacles. This is something to which I am looking forward enormously.

Looking ahead to the weeks ahead, I have been in touch with friend Sean of SophOz fame in Sydney, with whom we’ll be indulging in a liquid libation or two during our stay in NSW. We’re also in touch with my former Sophos colleagues in Tokyo, who are organising lots for us to see and do in our short time with them the following week. We really are having a fantabulous time and the holiday is really only just starting.

Life is good!

"What’s the weather like, this morning?"

…asked Mrs Johns as she got out of bed this morning. It is hot and sunny. Just the way it always seems to be Down here in Perth, WA.

I feel like a lot of time has passed since I last typed some words into this small, portable computer. The battery lasted me long enough to decide that I really liked Enterprise Architect; I’ll be recommending to my line manager on my return that we buy the licenses. After playing with UML tools, I spend some time trying to get some sleep on the ‘plane. I wasn’t very successful. I then watched some of the highlights of R.E.M.’s latest DVD, which they were showing in-flight. Every time they played "It’s the End of the World as We Know it.", which is one of my favourite songs, I wanted to sing along and bounce around in my seat. I don’t think that the sleepy population of Qantas Flight whatever-number-it-was to Singapore would have appreciated that, so I refrained. Such a shame!

Singapore’s Changi airport continues to be a wonderful place. K and I spent a little while investigating the rooftop cactus garden before looking for food. I say ‘food’, but it was actually a beer that I had for what you might call "Second Breakfast". Our time in Singapore was short lived and, before too long, we were airborne again, hurtling towards Perth.

The flight to Perth took no time at all, or so it seemed. My friend msjs bought me "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" as a farewell gift when I departed company with $PETES_EMPLOYEE-1; I saved it for this trip. Once we were on the ‘plane to Perth, I opened it, commenced reading, and didn’t put it down until I had reached the back cover. This is quite rare for me, which highlights how good this book really is. I spend a lot of time smiling, nodding and even laughing in agreement with the author’s observations. A must read, I would say. I even enjoyed it more than "31 Songs", which I had spent some time reading on the previous leg of the journey.

Having finished the book and another can of Victoria Bitter, I managed to catch my only thirty minutes of sleep of the journey, waking in time to catch my first glimpse of Australia. It was a further half-hour before we landed at Perth, but already I felt as if I had arrived.

Our friends were there waiting for us in the Arrivals Hall and dove us in the glorious Western Australian sunshine to their new abode.

On Saturday evening we had a barbecue with some friends that I had not seen since T and A got married, some three-and-a-bit years ago. A prepares a fine barbecue and we ate beautifully marinated food of the highest order. And oh yes, there were snags on the barbie!

Tiredness got the better of me around 10 o’clock and it was some twelve hours later before I was ready to face Easter Sunday. The Sun had already risen in the East and was beating down on Western Australia long before I opened my eyes.

A drove us to King’s Park in Perth, which comes highly recommended. There were hundreds of locals with their ‘Eskies’ (coolboxes) enjoying picnics with their families on the hectares of short, green grass that King’s Park affords. The scenery there of the Park, the City and the River was beautiful. Even the freeway that divides the Park from the City looks pleasant.

We then went to Lake Monger in the town of Cambridge to see the Black Swans. I shattered some of A’s illusions as to place names that she thought were Australian, but were English. Sorry, A.

Lunch was some gorgeous seafood at the Kailis Brother’s restaurant (highly recommended. I had Snappers. Mmmm…

A brief shopping trip ensued, followed by a seafood lunch and a couple of pints in the English-style pub, "The Moon and Sixpence" in the City, not far from the hotel where I stayed with R and M on my last visit!

More food, then. Thai, this time, before heading back to le Château for a nightcap and an early night.

Well, it sounds like every one else is up and about, now, so I shall wrap things up here and get ready for today’s jaunts. More later.

The thing about taking even the shortest period of time off work is that it takes so damned long to catch up on your inevitable return.

This is is what I am finding this morning, having had a day off on Friday so that I might spend a weekend with my Wife-to-be and her parents in the delightful setting of the Champagne region of La Belle France.

Despite the weather forecasts, it turned out that I would have been better prepared if I had packed my sunglasses, rather than my waterproof jacket. This is not a complaint, my friends, especially as ‘waterproof’ is rather a misnomer for the aforementioned jacket.

It was the most relaxing weekend I can remember for a long time, staying in a lovely hotel in Vertus. The décor was decidedly dodgy, but the cuisine at Hôtel le Thibault IV was outstanding. I even sampled snails for the first time. Yum!

On Saturday, after taking in the delights of Epernay and Reims, we stopped off at a local landmark. Atop one of the region’s many hills stood, what I suspect to be France’s most successful lighthouse. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that this lighthouse did not possess any great powers of illumination. Perhaps the reason for the lack of wrecks of unfortunate sea-faring vessels was due to it’s location, approximately 250 km away from the sea! The building did, however, house an informative museum.

All in all, it was a tremendous weekend, for which I thank D and M enormously.

Software is a bit like making sausages. People want to enjoy it but they don’t really want to know what went into it

–Dan Kusnetzky, IDC, Microsoft’s bid for secure computing

One of the most amusing quotes I have read in a long time. I guess software engineers, such as Yours Truly, aren’t people. Other than that, I think Mr. Kusnetzky is spot on!

By the sea you’ve got sand, which is earth and you’ve got the ocean, which is water. Then there’s the sea breeze which is air and if you light a cigarette you’ve got fire too. You’ve got all the elements in one place. That’s something really special.

–Phil Lynott

Top Readers’ marks for anyone who can tell me where on this planet Mister Lynott was talking about.

Camping. You really can’t beat it! This Summer Bank Holiday weekend we decided to get away from it all, with a couple of friends, and head up to The Peak District. We really were blessed with both the weather and the traffic being ideal for a stress-free break. We set up camp at a lovely site in the picturesque village of Birchover, not a million miles from The Red Lion public house! Most of Saturday was spent on the Limestone Way. It’d been ages since I’d done any ‘proper’ walking and I thoroughly enjoyed working up those blisters! On Saturday evening we drove over to Matlock Bath for the first night of the town’s illuminations. The river banks were adorned with illuminated animals and decorated boats sailed up and down the river. Definitely something to visit if you’re in the area!

After the delayed blog entry about my time in Sydney, I have finally gotten around to writing a bit about Tokyo for you. The week was amazing from start to finish. We arrived at Narita Airport at some ungodly hour of the morning, but were still met by three smiling faces, our old friends tk and sa & his charming girlfriend. After lots of mutual back slapping and exchanging of Japanese expletives on our arrival we adjourned for a quick beverage before setting off for the countryside for the day. tk and sa had the whole week planned out for us and we are very grateful to them for that. So off we went in convoy along the toll-infested highways and byways of Tokyo out to Hakone National Park where we would spend the rest of the day relaxing in one of the region’s many hot springs. This was the way to relax after a long flight, chatting with friends whilst soaking in Jacuzzis, rose baths, green tea baths and even sake baths! That evening we ate out at a lovely Japanese restaurant before going back to our hotel for some Japanese beer and a civilised game of cards. Well, semi-civilised… …there was a lot of burping!

The next day we left the hotel and headed off for Kamakura to see the town and then on to see the Daibutsu. That afternoon we headed back to the City where we would spend the rest of our week. After checking into our hotel we spent some time in Ginza searching for a bank that would accept my Cirrus card. Japanese Pancakes were the order of the day to line our stomachs for a few more tins of Asahi!

On the Tuesday, our Japanese friends had to attend the office (I couldn’t bring myself to type the W-word) leaving rtm, mec and I free to go to go to Tokyo Disneyland for the day. Hey… I’d never been to Disneyland before and I had a thoroughly fantastic time. I hope one day to bring my little sister to Disneyland, but perhaps I’ll go to one a bit closer to home*.

The rest of the week was fairly relaxing. Apart from catching up with friends and sampling the local cuisine, the only other touristy thing we engaged in was an afternoon bus tour with ta.

Our last night in Tokyo was one of the most memorable of the whole trip: a lovely meal with the guys and their colleagues. Much alcohol was consumed that night and when the guys suggested sampling some Japanese-style karaoke… it seemed like a fantastic idea. Photos of me singing many rock classics are not available anywhere on the Internet. Thank goodness!

Once again I would like to thank tk & his father, sa & N and ta for giving us a wonderful week in Tokyo.

I guess that It’s time I wrote some stuff about Sydney, given that I left there nearly a fortnight ago and that the nice guys at Fotango have sent me my (digital) pictures already (email me for details on how to see them).

So. Where to start? The first evening was pretty uneventful, we landed, caught the bus to our hotel (which we got at a bargain price from wotif.com), had some dinner and took in some of the views of the Kings Cross area of Sydney.

On the Tuesday, we ventured out towards Sydney Harbour. Sydney Harbour is quite possibly the most beautiful natural harbour in the world. It’s absolutely massive with many bays, inlets and of course has a stunning bridge (which you can climb, if you shell out enough cash) and, of course, the World-famous Opera House. We spent much of the day wandering around Circular Quay and The Rocks. We also climbed the 200 steps to the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Museum & Lookout, which provided fantastic views of the Harbour. In the evening, we caught up with some old friends, who work on George Street, for some long-overdue beers!

The AMP Tower was our target for the next day. Standing 305m tall above the City, the Tower (the tallest in Australia, I believe) gives breathtaking views for miles around! Once we’d taken in as much viewage (yes, I made that word up) as we could handle, we headed over to Darling Harbour and then off to see the Buran Space Shuttle, which is being exhibited there at the moment.

For me though, the highlight of our time in NSW was a day trip to The Blue Mountains. That place was truly awesome National Park land, the size of Belgium with some of the worlds finest scenery. I went on the World’s Steepest Scenic Railway, saw The Three Sisters and was taught how to fly a boomerang!

Well… I’m sure I could write lots more about Sydney, about the fantastic food that’s on offer there, Chinatown and all the rest of it, but the best way to find out what it’s like is to go there! It’s a wonderful city!

Alas, my time in Perth draws to a close, tomorrow we leave for Sydney (NSW). This seems like a good opportunity to fill you in, dear reader, with what I’ve been up to. On Thursday, I was off to Fremantle just as I left you. In Freo I had lovely fresh fish and chips with thm and family. We then visited the Maritime Museum before heading off to the tour of Fremantle Prison.

Friday was great. Having done some shopping, we joined a wine-tasting tour, which visited four different wineries in the Swan Valley, sampling about six wines, ports and champagnes in each! Needless to say that the rest of Friday is a bit hazy!

Yesterday was, of course, the highlight of the holiday with the wedding. The whole day was perfect for thm and his lovely bride, A. I look forward to posting some snaps up here later.

Today was quiet. Just a long stroll along the beach. Well.. I have to rush off now. I have an appointment with a restaurant and a nice bottle of red wine, bought at the Sandalford Winery.

G’day! Well, I suppose it’s about time I wrote something. It’s Day 5 here in Perth and I’m having a wonderful time. Perth is a fantastic city, not very big, but certainly very tall. It’s clean too. Imagine my delight when the first barman to collect our glasses said to me “Nah worries, mate!” I’ve also seen Meat Pie Floaters on a menu. This really is The Last Continent!

On Monday we hired a car and drove to Caversham Wildlife Park (which, incidentally is run by a couple who originally lived in my old hometown of Aylesbury). Here we saw all manner of Australian animals. I watched the koalas sleep, fed the kangaroos, cuddled a wombat and took photos of everything else!

Tuesday was spent pottering around the City after having had a good night on the beers. Then we went to join thm and his family for an authentic Aussie Barbie, with prawns, ‘roo and everything! Yesterday, after a trip to the Museum of Western Australia, we took a cab ride to the casino to watch A win, whilst pouring $1 coins into the slot, never to be seen again!

Last night we paid a visit to The Brass Monkey bar, where they have a comedy night every Wednesday. To quote Her Deceased Majesty, “We are not amused!” Sorry. Well, the last act, “Norvac ‘n’ Funny” made us laugh, to be fair, but did we really have to sit through the rest?

Anyway, I love it here! The Aussies have a thing or two to learn about beer, though. It’s too cold for a start! There really is no need to keep the glasses in the fridge. And bitter has never been yellow! Don’t get me started about what Guinness should taste like, either!

More later… I’m off to Freo now.