Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

I can't think of a better way of bowing out of Melbourne life, than waving goodbye to Roger Federer at Rod Laver arena at the Australian Open Men's final. Mr. Wren is now on a flight to Bangkok and I will join him in a couple of weeks. It was an amazing evening of tennis. My initial disappointment not to be cheering on Andy Murray having seen him lose in two previous finals was soon forgotten .  Melbourne knew it had a dream final with Federer and Nadal, and the players did not disappoint. I was going to say the eyes of the world were on  Melbourne, however, I know from the text messages that our friends and family in the UK had to make do with listening to the match live on the radio! Which was absolutely useless when we were saying look out for us in the crowd, our seats are brilliant! Melbournians, of course, in the self-proclaimed sporting capital of the world assume the whole world is watching and cram into the aptly named Fed Square to watc...

My Sunday Photo: Sunday 22 January 2017 The Crazy Poodle has had a big week. Firstly he had a pampering session at the groomers so he would be looking gorgeous and smelling sweetly  for our international guests. Hmmm best laid plans of mice and men and all that... The groomer points out a slight eye infection which appears once he's had his facial and combines with water in the ears to give him the itches.    Big time! He is none too pleased with my bucket on the head solution but thankfully it does solve the problem and he is right (ok exhausted),  for his media appearances later in the week... He's a laid back dog at the best of time and can't believe his luck to be invited onto the sofa to watch the tennis. Of course he soon made himself comfortable on his favourite tennis player! Once there and fast asleep, he had no idea that he was just about to be Instafamous. You can read the full story here Linking with thanks to Darren at My Sun...

Talk about nearly choking on my cappuccino! So there I am enjoying a quiet coffee at the Australian Open when suddenly the peaceful garden area of the player lounge  becomes a hive of activity and out of the corner of my eye, a croc appears! Have you ever wondered how the players find the time to cuddle a koala or kangaroo? As if by magic the garden is transformed into a private up close and personal encounter with some of our favourite, and our not so favourite, Aussie animals.  It was a watch your back moment as a massive snake appears... But let's show you the koala who was clearly aware of his opportunity to shine. I mean who has ever seen a koala this alert? They seriously normally sleep 24/7! Of course, everyone wanted to cuddle the koala and who wouldn't except that in Australia you need a license to handle a koala, so bring on the little joey in the poach who seemed to enjoy all the attention from the gathering crowd. But let me in...

For the past nine years, we have been privileged to be a player guest at the Australian Open. Together with a number of friends we share our homes with visiting tennis players and through their generosity we have an opportunity to experience the Australian Open in a unique way.  My player guest accreditation gives me access to travel in the Australian Open cars, to eat in the player cafe and to relax between matches in the Player Lounge. On Tuesday it was 38 degrees celsius, if it was tough for the spectators watching in that heat, it was even harder for the players. I don't know how they do it. I have the utmost respect for the players, this is a tough life.  Here are some of my favourite photos from the week... 1. The Australian Open has a new logo, and we are greeted on arrival with this huge sign made of tennis balls. It is impossible to take a photo without someone in it as you can see! Having a ball at the AO 2017 2. The Australian Open is not called...

Like some perverse sort of warm-up for my new Bangkok life, Melbourne has gone crazy hot. It's fine down at the beach but not when we're back in town. I've jobs to do! Luckily one of those was sorting out the pond. You may have seen all the baby fish we found if you follow my Instagram @LWWren.  Still, for those of you sitting amidst minus temperatures or staring down the barrel of a gloomy, grey January it might appear a bit churlish to be complaining about the weather but hey that's in my British DNA. Luckily not too many of my friends dare to call me a whinging Pom! Well, not to my face! No everyone is being terribly nice to us at the moment. They hardly get the words out of their mouths about how sad they are to see us go, before the phone calendars are open and a Thai holiday being planned! Of course, that makes me super pleased it won't be so hard to leave if we get loads of visitors. What am I on? Of course it will be hard to lea...

We all get withdrawal feelings after the tennis, it takes up so much of our lives in January. Gee it's exhausting, mostly because we also get gripped by the night matches on the television and stay up really late! We have been lucky to have been down at Melbourne Park six times over the  Australian Open tennis championships. We have cheered home our favourite players at round one matches on the outside courts, to the Mixed Doubles and Men's finals at Rod Laver Arena.  We have not been alone. Over 700,000 people have also been at the tennis in 2016. The players call the Aussie Open the Happy Slam and it's easy to see why. The fans are plentiful, often dressed in fancy dress and completely over the top in favour of cheering in local talent. Although there is mixed support for some of the antics of some of our young Australian men! The weather is gorgeous, when it's not stinking hot or pouring with rain all day. But even then, we have three covered arenas, t...

How to spot when something big is going on around here.... Washed, scrubbed and ready... Love the new look Australian Open Cars! It's beginning to look a lot like the tennis! Linking with thanks at  ABC Wednesday: A is for Australian Open! Wordless Wednesday Imag-in-ing

This is the best time of year in Melbourne.  We're in that post Christmas euphoria, with the whole summer ahead of us. Melbourne is quiet (well in the suburbs!), some firms have extended closures, and with the school holidays stretching ahead until the end of January, many families take the opportunity to remain at the beach and commute to and from Melbourne.  Here's why January is a great time of year to visit! Melbourne Airport sign 1. Weather: apparently as a country we boast one of the warmest year round climates in the world. Now maybe not so much in Melbourne, but we do have what the locals lovingly call a ' four seasons in a day' climate. Which means that you are never really that far away from a change. So, if you don't like the weather at the time, no worries mate . Soooooo perfect for those stinking hot Christmases when everything melts! January weather is the best. February can be even hotter! Summer at the Mornington Peninsula 2...