Steve and Colleen's new baby, Thomas

Email from Colleen

Here are a few pics of the wonderful Thomas Watson. He has brought so much joy and pleasure to our lives already and he is only 16 days old. He was born on the 9th Oct at 8.21am weighing 3.62kg (8llb). We are starting to settle into family life at home and trying to get him into a routine of feeding at the same times every day. Part of that daily routine includes a walk on Wimbledon Common, we are lucky to have the common so close to where we live. It has been great having Steve around since the birth, he is back at work on Monday so that will be the true test. We already have a few doctors appointments both for me and Tom early next week, so nothing like getting out and about straight away. It's amazing how the days pass so quicky and how they all merge into one another, between feeds and trying to catch up on a bit of sleep, there is not much time for anything else, but it's all wonderfully exhausting!

Lazy picnic in Sydney Botanical Gardens

Sydney Adventures with mum and Mike

We have spent a wonderful three weeks in Sydney with mum and Mike. Its been a very special time indeed. Highlights included:

• Proudly showing off out apartment which mum and Mike loved. With its nearby ferry stop, it was a perfect base for them to explore Sydney.
• Mum and Mike's love for Manly which they visited three times. It really is the perfect spot.
• A fish and prawn barbecue feast with Eva and Brendan. We all had an idyllic swim off the rocks.
• A wine tasting evening at Eva and Brendan with Sue, a South African wine connoisseur. We got to taste some delicious Australian wines and had a great evening.
• A delicious lunch with Doug and Claudia including salt and pepper prawns (yum!)
• A relaxing and lazy picnic lunch at the botanical gardens with Colleen (who was here from the UK), Roger and Lucy, Andreas, Ingrid, Sebastion, Craig and co.
• A gorgeous swim and fish and chips at Watson's Bay
• A trip to the Blue Mountains. Unfortunately it turned out to be a cloudy day and all the beautiful scenery was covered in mist!
• A trip to Bobbin Head for a walk through the mangroves, followed by a picnic and walk at Palm Beach.
• A great walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee.
• House hunting in Neutral Bay and St Ives. We found the perfect house but we were gazumped a few days later, much to our great disappointment.
• Exploring the shops and atmosphere of "The Rocks"
• A lovely morning spent at The Farmer's Market at Piermont Bay.
• A swim and picnic at the beautiful Wattamolla Lagoon in the Royal National Park.
• A great evening meal with our friends Hamish and Gabrielle who were here from the UK.
• Mike's delight in watching all the boats and ships with his binoculars from our flat.
• Getting to sample mum's delicious cooking again including kedgeree and creme caramal.
• Kerry coming to breakfast with her friends from London.
• Looking up cricket and super 14 results for poor Mike on the internet who was able to watch almost no sport for three weeks.
• All in all, we'ved loved every minute of having mum and Mike to stay and we will miss them like crazy when they leave tomorrow.

Bobbin Head.



Palm Beach
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Fish Market..




Colleen comes to visit
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Wollamolla Lagoon (Royal National Park)
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Watson's Bay
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The Myburghian Leap catches on!

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Colleen and Steve get married in Hermanus

My last night in London

I spent Saturday night with Colleen and Steve and they drove me to Victoria Station at 7 am on Subday morning - can't ask for better friends than that! I also got to see Sanjay who has just arrived back from a 3 week holiday to Cape Town where he proposed to his other half. Also met up with Jessie for a drink - haven't seen her since her wedding and it was really great to catch up.

Colleen and Steve




Cousin Jessie




Sanjay



We went to see the Xmas lights in Oxford Street which were beautiful - definitely got us into the Xmas spirit.





I will miss London...

Farewell to Willow Road

Well, we've sold Willow Road, our Cape Town house, and it's kind of like the closing of a chapter in our lives. Home from 1990 to 2000, the place is full of special memories.


Some Highlights

• Braais on the balcony
• The view from the balcony and the views of the mountain
• Living with a range of zany, wonderful housemates like Dain, Andre, Oliver, Ben, Eleda, Peter the plumber, Peter the paramedic, Shirly, Russel, Colleen and Rory
• Romancing Ally (including suprise Chinese dinner in my room)
• Sleeping out on the balcony
• Setting the house up with Ally in 1998 when we got back from overseas
• The walk in the mountain above the house
• Strolls to nearby Kirstenbosch
• Feta, the cat
• Pikiswe, our domestic helper (ah, those were the days!)
• Judge and Niki, Eleda's pugs
• Studying for university exams with Julian
• Summer holidays
• Some great parties including my 21st birthday party
• Some fantastic dinner parties
• A couple of family Xmases
• Watching South Africa win the 1994 world cup in the lounge (ecstacy).
• Watching South Africa losing to the Australians in the world cup cricket (run, Alan, run!)
• Lots and lots of cars outside and the dispair of the poor neighbours
• Gerald and the Edwards
• Silvia, my silver monza
• Waking up to the automatic irrigation system at 6 am in the morning
• The wild garden
• Walks up the hill at night to see the amazing views of the suburbs and check out other houses
• The chocabloc garage
• Furniture olympics

Saying farewell to Colleen and Steve

Breaking rules is always fun

St John's College

Weekend at the sea side

We spent the weekend at East Bourne with Colleen and Steve. Right next to Brighton, the town is similar but quainter and quieter. The weather was glorious.

Highlights

• Leisurely walks along the promenade in the evening sun
• Delicious cheese cake at a 1790's bakery (very quaint indeed and the cheese cake was heavenly)
• Italian ice cream
• Watching the full moon rise from the sea
• Contemplating the beautiful view of the sea from our hotel room - and listening to the lap of the waves during the night
• Exploring the white cliffs at Beachie Head on Sunday
• Watching thousands of birds flying in to roost under the old pier
• Spending time with Coll and Steve - we'll miss them big time

Ally and Colleen have been friends now for over 15 years




Roosting birds

As evening came, 1000's of European starlings started to gather at spots accross the town. From there, they then made their way in mass to congregate on the roof of an old building on the pier. At 7:30 pm sharp, in one enormous flock, they dived up into the air and then plunged down in a whirling, spiralling torrent to take up their roost for the night underneath the pier. We were on the pier at the time (having been told off this nightly pilgrimmage) so got to see it close hand. Managed to duck most of the inevitable missiles from the sky.


The view from our hotel


Lazing by the Beachie Head Cliffs






Mood shots