​Our trip overseas started in Barcelona, Spain two weeks ago. We were there to attend the wedding of the son of friends of ours from Melbourne. The bride - originally from Mexico, and groom are currently based in Munich, Germany and decided to have have a destination wedding in Barcelona. It was a lovely occasion and took place in a beautiful function centre located on the Mediterranean coast just south of Barcelona. 

From Barcelona, we flew to Edinburgh for the start of our Scottish trip. We met up with friends from Canada and took in the sights - Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the Royal Yacht Britannia, Rosslyn Chapel and many others. In the following days, we drove through the Cairngorms to Inverness and the Culloden battle field, Ullapool, Invergarry and are currently in Stirling. The scenery and sights along the way have been great - highlands, lochs and castles. Attached is a photo of Janet and our friend Linda at the Eilean Donan Castle near Skye. 

Today, we end our visit to Scotland and fly to Dublin, Ireland. We plan to be there for a few days before heading off into the Irish countryside and take in the sights for a week or so before heading back home to Melbourne. We will be back in time for the Grand Final and look forward to seeing you then. 

​We are now in Adare just south of Limerick on the west side of Ireland.  We have seen some great sights - Cliffs of Moher, Dingle and the stunning Dingle Peninsula. Our trip is coming to a rapid end and we will be heading home next Monday. 

Bruce and I headed off to Geelong with Bruce driving Julie's car Hyundai i30 hatchback . As we were heading out the door I asked Bruce did he want to take the spare car key for my car . "No - he didn't need it " was his reply . ( woman's intuition note )
We had a full day planned with catching up with relatives - starting off with am tea with elderly aunt and uncle  at Belmont , lunch in Ocean Grove with Bruce's  brother Mark And wife Lucy; afternoon tea with Gloria - in Barwon heads and back to Geelong to see our niece Sadie star in school play of Alice in Wonderland .
Day is planned and Bruce drops me off at Belmont and says that he won't come in yet as he wants to check on his now finished build at Geelong .  I jump out of the car, and it starts bipping which I ignore and Bruce drives off back into Geelong.
Half an hour later , Bruce appears back. How was everything at work everyone asks ?
"Don't know replies" Bruce . " I couldn't  get out of the car. I parked the car and before I turned the engine off went looking for the keys - and realised they were in Julie's handbag and that if I turned the engine off , I wouldn't be able to drive back and get Julie .  All I could do was drive around the block and look at it from afar and drive back to  Belmont for Julie ."
This caused a lot of laughter and mirth amongst us all . Poor Bruce was unable to check out the build that day - and perhaps he wasn't meant to .
Moral of story
Check your car and are you able to drive off without keys??🚗🏎🚙🔑🗝🔑🔑🔑🗝🗝🗝😉😂😉😂

We recently joined Marg and Dave on another English adventure to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversaries.
They had spent some time up north before we arrived. After picking up a car with a non functioning Sat Nav, we had a lovely week in Cornwall.
We then proceeded to cross the country for another week in Canterbury. Marg had sussed out a beautiful, old terrace, 2 minutes walk from the city, with a car parking space!
They're worth their weight in gold in Canterbury. The quaint, old residence, apart from the steepest staircase in the universe to get to bedrooms also had an outdoor, wood fired BBQ.
Well of course Dave's eyes lit up when spying this. I was not confident, given the proximity to the city and the doubtful existence of a suitable supply of the appropriate combustible material.
However, upon reading the welcoming literature from the owner, we were informed that it was there to be used. A container down the back had a bag of dubious fire making 'compressed something' that was supposed to do the trick. So, we purchased the appropriate red meat and set about trying to light the fire to have an Aussie Barbie in 'old enemy' territory.
With limited paper and the 'compressed something' being not willing to catch fire, we had to admit defeat and the meat was cooked indoors, that evening.
However, Dave would not give up on his dream of an English BBQ. Firelighters would be the answer, and so they were duly purchased with more meat and the quest was begun again.
The 'compressed something' was encased with firelighters and the match was struck. Again the recalcitrant material refused to catch alight and it looked as if our hopes might be dashed.

​Dave, however, was not giving up without a fight. After scouring the property, he discovered some dead branches in the old 'dunny' lane at the back. These were broken up,
added to the smouldering excuse for a fire, and presto, we had flame! After gentle tendering the flames became a small fire and soon our steaks were paced on the grill.
The precious 'cargo' was dutifully looked after on our pommie barbie and we went inside to sample Dave's first go at the Aussie tradition in this ancient land.
The result was absolutely magnificent. Medium/rare to perfection!!

At this point, I was duty bound to bestow royal title on the man who had overcome such adversity. I give you:
Dave, King of the English BBQ.

Your correspondent from over there
Kev O'Mara

​The Longdens enjoyed a well-deserved break in Thailand staying at JWMarriott at Kao-Lak - about 1 1/2 he drive from Phuket.  Their first taste of a luxury Escape Hotel package and they were not disappointed.  Trust Bruce to pick the hotel with the best swimming pool and the longest one in South East Asia.  1 1/2 km of water with almost all rooms each having their own private access to it.
This was Bruce's ideal of pure Heaven.

​One simply stepped down from their back patio directly into the pool and off you swam - or walked / or floated .  The decision being whether it was an exercise swim , a cool down , or a cocktail swim ( my favourite).  How good was it to be able to swim up to cocktail bar - after deciding which one to go to - order a cocktail or two , and then swim home. No risk of being caught drunk driving 😂😂

​We did manage to drag ourselves away from the resort for a day and headed off to Phang Nga Bay.
Highlights of this day -included speeding through the waters in a traditional long boat - through the mangroves, onto some cave canoeing and exploration of the sea caves .
Bruce -alias James Bond- got to dip his toes in the water and swim around James Bond island .
Please note the photographer was very keen to keep "subject" in water so any similarities to James Bond could be heightened .
A beautiful and traditional Thai lunch was served at Panyi restaurant - part of the fishing village and then off to check out the sacred Monkey Buddha temple
Back to the resort and back into the pool we went .
Complimentary massages included in our stay helped to make us fully relax and convince us that this resort is well worth returning too .
We can highly recommend this place for a week to relax , swim , eat and be massaged
Cheers
Julie

Big thanks to Tony for suggesting a visit to Romsey to view the sand sculptures at Cope Williams Winery. On exhibit is the amazing expertise of a group of international sculptors who travel across the world sculpting sand, ice or snow.
​Fi, Norm, Dave and I spent an hour wandering the various forms of sand with Leo, the tour guide and co-owner, giving great explanation and background.  Leo personally works with the eight international artists that have created the wonderful sculptures.  He has another eight ready to add to this permanent exhibition if sufficient interest enthuses the governing council.

​I recommend  visit to this beautiful area at Glenfern Rd Romsey.  I hope you enjoy the photos.

After Dave received another IBM Award he graciously gave up the solo trip to Bali and instead Marg & Dave headed to Melbourne by train for a few days discovery.  Alighting at Parliament Station we made our way to the Windsor Hotel, our first Melbourne icon.  Walking up the red carpet, which I think may not have been for us, was a regal introduction to such a stately building.  Built in 1883 it has been appropriately renovated with never-ending marble, chandeliers and gracious service from the staff. 
Sunday night we walked to Lupino in Lt Collins St to join Websters, Prices and Fosters to celebrate Mandy's birthday.  A great night and easy walk home.
After dining room breakfast we trammed to the Shrine were we spent a great 2 hours discovering the recent upgrades underneath this wonderful building. A mini War Memorial topped off with a fabulous view of Melbourne CBD

From here we walked in sunshine to the Botanic Gardens. Where we had lunch by the lake. An easy walk to Richmond Station and then caught the train back to CBD to explore Fed Square and ACMI. A tram hop back to the Windsor giving us time for a catnap and book reading before heading out to dinner.


Another sunny day on Tuesday as we trammed down to the Immigration Museum in Flinders Street.  We spent a couple of hours exploring, particularly the interesting current exhibition featuring immigrants both now assimilated and those that are still in detention centres.  A quick tram ride into unfamiliar territory, South Wharf, and a little shopping for Marg and quick lunch before returning by tram to the Palace cinema to see the film Viceroys House.  Thoroughly recommended.
Woke again to sunshine on Wednesday and finally caught a train back home. The trusty Outback was still in one piece in the Sunbury Station carpark.  I had no idea that the train/tram hop on and off was so easy and it cost us $4.10 each for the 4 day journey.  The transport and sites in easy reach in Melbourne were well worth the adventure.