Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

2015  a very delightful year! Family highlights: Schools out for ever ! All Kids at University.  Travel:  Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, Belgium, France, Vanuatu Career highlights: returning to paid employment with Asylum Seekers.  Isn't it interesting to see your most popular posts,  compared with what you believe are your best posts ?! Here are the most viewed each month  with March's My Sunday Photo "Escape" coming in the winner! JANUARY Happy Australia Day 2015   FEBRUARY Welcome to our Melbourne Madhouse  Australia I love having the Japanese girls to stay! MARCH My Sunday Photo: Escape  Australia APRIL Good Friday Royal Children's Hospital Appeal Melbourne  - Australia MAY I remember Wren  - UK JUNE Paris memories  - France JULY Alice in Oxford  - UK AUGUST Spring in Melbourne SEPTEMBER When two world's collide ...

I love an Aussie Christmas at the beach It’s a relaxed, no fuss and bother affair. Well normally… Danger! It's Christmas! We're unusual,  we clear out of the city for the beach on Christmas Eve, most of our friends stay in town for Christmas lunch with family, but for us, with our broader family overseas, it's a lovely escape. We go to the Mornington Peninsula,  one hour out of Melbourne.  By Boxing Day this place will be heaving. Melbourne-by-the-sea they call it; finding a car park will be tricky,  and we'll bump into more friends here on the Blairgowrie dog beach,  than we will on any walk in the park back home! Our Rye beach house is in neighbourhood with mostly permanent homes. It's become our Christmas Eve tradition, to take a quick stroll  around the block. We like to check out any local building developments  and to admire the local decorations.  Or maybe not.  Perhaps in our dreams,  no one re...

Wordless Wednesday [ I'm on the way back to Australia and couldn't resist Blogging from the skies. I love Wifi on airplanes!  Here is the best of my British Chrissy photos!] Hark! The Herald Angels sing Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer : Oxfordshire Pubs I saw three ships come sailing by. ...Bristol by day and night In The Bleak Mid Winter: Carols at Shrivenham, Oxon by day and night Oh Come All Ye Faithful:   advent wreath with candles  The Holly And The Ivy : Longcot village church door O Holly Night:  Longcot Parish Church, Oxfordshire Linking with thanks to the following - Merry Christmas one and all! Our World Tuesday Mosaic Monday Wordless Wednesday Communal Global

[ Warning the post below may contain language that could offend :) ] I'm in all sorts of trouble, and all because of my Brussels sprouts joke. Now in the festive season, Brussels sprouts are everywhere Oh the memories, the horror... the shame! In my defence, I’d like to put it out there,  I’m not a hater, nor prejudiced against these little green edible buds.  I'm a Brussels sprout lover! There I've said it now! Wow! It appears, you either love 'em or hate them don't you? So when you find a restaurant that makes Brussels sprouts into a dish that everyone likes,  you want to tell the world about it - right? And I did.  I wrote a Trip Advisor review for  The Good Table restaurant  in Castlemaine, Vic in Australia  saying how fabulous their Brussels sprouts were. I thought they'd be chuffed,  but they never got to read my report,  as the Trip Advisor computer said 'No! ' It was probably my fault as I...

Go Banksy go! The rebel in me has always had a soft spot for street art. It's the wild creative that appeals. Speaking the honest truth with a spray can. Nicholson Street, Footscray, Vic, Australia I t's hard to know how to reply when asked in Bristol, UK this weekend:  "have you ever used a spray can before?" 'How do you know I'm not a world famous street artist from Australia?' 'Or the real Banksy?'  I ask. Footscray,Vic, Australia Street Art My absolute hero is Banksy. I love the dark humour of  the Bristol street artist  whose real identity remains unknown.  I admire his willingness to tackle head on the issues of the day. Banksy and Little Wandering Wren: two peas in a pod - ha! Banksy has the week, depicted Steve Jobs,  Apple founder  and Syrian migrant,  on a wall of a migrant and refugee camp in France. Further along the wall are the words 'no-one deserves to live this way' Having work...

  'Are we getting an advent calendar?' my 19 year old son asks hopefully? 'Nah, you're too old' I reply! Then out shopping I couldn't resist, and bought an advent calendar... Which I presented to my youngest with a Ta-ra! 'Thanks Mum, you're the best! ' Which did make me feel a tad guilty... The age of innocence... Because every year we tell the advent calendar story. The one of many moons ago, when we lived in a far away land  the land that chocoholics dream about - Belgium. Where I could have bought some local Godiva chocolates But no! They don't call me 'the best' Mother for nothing. I  drove to the British shop, Stonemanor in Everberg   and splashed out many, many francs,  it was well before the Euro. I bought him a Cadbury's Dairy Milk advent calendar. These ones were special,  not one single chocolate behind each purple window,  but a whole bar. Yumm... He's grown a bit ...