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Greetings from Perth, Western Australia – May 2023
Category: Life in General
Posts about my interests in life besides travel
What’s On Your Bookshelf – April 2023
This challenge is hosted by Deb, Sue, and Jo. They have some great recommendations this month also.
I’ve got some juicy books for this month. All sorts of genres with page turning twists.
I’ll start with my favourite. Honestly the best book I’ve read in a while. Such a sumptuous satisfying read. It was like a three course meal, starter, main and dessert, with words and phrases just tripping off the tongue. Kate Atkinson is wonderful writer.
Set in 1926 in a London still recovering from the Great War. Focusing on the nightlife and clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters and girls selling dances for a shilling a time. At the heart of it all is the notorious Nellie Coker and her six children and the Detective determined to bring her empire crashing down. 5/5
Any book featuring Detective Harry Bosch is always a good read for me. This is the fifth novel in which he pairs up with Detective Renee Ballard. I’ve enjoyed all of these books so far and this one was no exception. I like the interaction between the two. I got the feeling that this may be the last in the series, sadly. 5/5
Weyward is Emilia Hart’s debut novel and it didn’t disappoint.
The story of three women from different times. It starts with Kate in 2019, then flits backwards in time to Altha in 1619 and then forward to Violet in 1942. Weyward Cottage is at the centre of it all and where they all end up living. The connection between these women apart from being related is their ability to commune with nature and animals. They are all fleeing dangerous men. I enjoyed reading about how they exacted revenge! Altha was my favourite character. 4/5
I’ve read most of Louise Candlish’s books and I’m always excited to see when she has written a new one. Her characters are not always likeable and they all have something to hide.
Alex lives a comfortable life with his wife Beth in a leafy suburb. He likes to keep to himself and is not the most sociable of men. It’s only when Beth announces the opening of a nature trail that has been disused for decades that things start to fall apart for him. Who is he really and what has be been hiding for years?
The books goes backwards and forwards in time, so it’s hard sometimes to keep track of what is going on. I did read it very quickly as I was determined to find out what Alex’s secret was. 4/5
I saw some great reviews for this book so thought I would give it a go. I wasn’t keen on The Seven Sisters books and I only read one of those. I enjoyed this old fashioned “Who Done It”. The characters are so well written and it wasn’t until towards the end that I guessed.
The story is about a prestigious boarding school in deepest Norfolk. A shocking event that may have been a tragic accident or maybe not. High flying Detective Jazmine Hunter from London is brought in to help local police with their enquiries. 5/5
A good fun read and it would have been the beginning of a good series, but sadly she died at the young age of 56, in 2021. I read somewhere that her son found this book unpublished.
This is another author I haven’t read before and I’m glad I’ve now added her to my list of favourite authors. I wasn’t sure when I first started reading it and wasn’t too keen on Tully and Rachel, but they gradually grew on me.
Tully and Rachel aren’t at all happy when they discover that their father, an eminent surgeon, is about to marry again to a woman half his age. On top of that he’s only just divorced from their beloved mother who has Alzheimer’s disease. Heather the woman in question goes out of her way to win over the two sisters.
A book full of hidden dark secrets, old wounds and shocking discoveries. 4/5
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
How do you read your books
I read all of the above books over the course of the last two months. I’ve been using my local library’s app called BorrowBox and downloading them onto my e-reader. Some books come through within days of each other with just two weeks to read them, however you can renew for two weeks. It’s been a real money saver I have to say.
How do you find your next book
I’m an avid book review reader and find most of my books from the magazines I read from the Readly app. I pay around A$11 per month and can read all my favourite magazines and newspapers on this. I always head to the book review page first.
I would be interested to see if anybody has read any of the above books and what they think.
Environments I’ve Lived In
Throughout my life, I’ve had the opportunity to live in several different environments, each place different from the other. From bustling cities to suburban towns, each place has made me the person who I am today.
England
I was born in London and raised in Essex and lived there for 31 years. There are certainly parts of England that I love, London, the South West, the coastal towns. The environment is great in summer and sometimes spring and autumn, but the winters are not for me.
After living away from England for so many years, I realise I could not live there again. I’ve got too used to the wide open spaces and the sunny skies of Perth.
I enjoy a visit though!
Oceans, Rivers, Estuaries and Suburban Rooftops
Hong Kong
In my early thirties, I upped and moved to Hong Kong and it was a significant culture shock. The frenzied pace of life and the sheer number of people everywhere was overwhelming at first, especially the heat and the weight of the air, like a wet blanket over your shoulders. Anyway I soon fell in love with this City and also a few weeks later, my husband.
Hong Kong is not just a concrete jungle as many people think. There are many country parks and huge green rolling hills for hiking. Beaches on faraway islands only accessible by boat or ferry. Popular at the weekends for people to enjoy a calmer environment.
I remember when I first started work on the 37th floor of a skyscraper and travelled to work by ferry, I felt like Melanie Griffith in Working Girl!
I enjoyed 14 wonderful years here and both my children had their primary education here.
We were lucky enough to live in the countryside with views in the distance of the sea. We had six dogs, rescued by Anthony and Elena from the bins or left abandoned by the road side.
and the ocean in front
Perth, Australia
Deciding to leave Hong Kong was an extremely hard decision, I think all ex-pats would agree. It was like stepping out of our comfort zone. From the moment I first visited Australia in 1988 I knew that I could live there though. We left because it was time for senior education for the children and Anthony had family in Perth. Also because Hong Kong is not a place to grow old unless you are Chinese!
Perth has to be one of the best environments in the world to live. Nearly always blue skies and warm weather. Endless coastlines and green parks and ovals only a short drive away or even on your doorstep. As much as I love to travel I always look forward to going home.
I’ve been extremely fortunate in all the places I’ve lived, but then again I always try to make the best of everything life has offered me.
A few photos below of what Perth has to offer, including a couple from my garden
Perth Skyline 
Cottesloe Beach 
Swan Brewery 
Honeyeater in my garden 
Kookaburra on my garden wall 
Swan River
Posted as part of Lens Artists Challenge – Environments.
~ “It’s been a while” ~
It’s been a couple of months since I’ve written anything or joined in any challenge. Life has been challenging enough for a while!
I returned earlier than expected to the UK with my daughter and two grandchildren to see my dear dad. Fortunately we were just in time to spend a few days at his bedside and for him to see his great grandchildren, I believe he was holding on for us. My dear dad passed away a few weeks ago, having survived a year longer than expected. It was a blessing for my mum to have the children and my daughter on hand to keep her distracted.
After they returned I now have my wonderful husband to help with things. It’s unfortunate that my lovely mum has to go into a care home, but we have found a good one and I hope to have her settled before I return to Australia. It will be a wrench and on my conscience for a long time that this is has to be the outcome.
My dad was 91 and lived a long and mostly healthy and happy life, has left a gaping hole in all of our lives.
Even though I live in Australia and before that Hong Kong, having moved from the UK over 35 years ago, my parents came out every year to see us all. It was great having them every year for three months at a time. They were very independent and drove themselves around, with my dad joining our local golf course and making friends of his own.
A few years ago I bought him a book “Dear Dad, From You to Me”, on each page there was a question about his life and what I meant to him. Who knew he would turn into such a prolific writer, and he wrote pages and pages, filling up notebooks and finding old photos. Once this was written I read this, sometimes with tears but mostly with laughter. I typed this up and in the end had it made into small booklets.
My Dad – Ronald
1931 – 2023
Born in the East End of London and one of eleven children. He was the youngest boy, with five older brothers, two older sisters and two younger sisters. He was born a twin but sadly his brother died at six months old.
He was a fairly naughty boy, being led astray by his older brothers but doted on by his older sisters. My dad tells tales of playing in bomb craters and lighting fires, being dressed up as a guy and carted around in a wheelbarrow for “penny for the guy”.
During the war years he was evacuated twice. He seemed to have come through those years unscathed. The lady he lived with, reading between the lines, treated her charges as little slaves, perhaps this is the reason one of his older sisters brought him home before the war was over.
My dad could put his hand to anything, decorating, do-it-yourself, photography and sketching. We didn’t always see eye to eye being made in the same mould, but he was always there for me and helped me out in numerous ways over the years.
I will miss my facetime chats with him and my mum every week, but I know when I think of him he is with me at all times.
A few of my favourite photos
❤️ “Forever in my heart and in my thoughts, dear Dad” ❤️
~ Sun, Sea Sand and Sculptures – A Taste of Things to come ~
It’s been so hot in Perth these last few days I finally persuaded Anthony to come to the beach with me. We arrived around 4.30 pm and found somewhere for the deckchairs. This week is the opening of Sculptures by the Sea 2023, so it was pretty busy on the beach with some sculptures already up and others being erected. Bulldozers were going up and down on the sand creating spaces for sculptures that needed reinforcing.
“The beach is a place of art,
Where sand comes alive by the sun’s light,
Where sculptures spring up like mushrooms in the night.
Each wave that greets the shore,
A brush stroke of ambience,
Creating a masterpiece on the sea floor
Sculptures of sand, soaked by the sun’s kiss,
Moulded with care, to make us never miss
The memories of our days at the shore,
And the special places we just can’t ignore.”
A poem created by the new AI Block on WordPress
I have just been reading Deb’s post about this new block and thought I would give it a try! I suppose it is cheating but so much fun.
As you can see Anthony is waiting patiently for me to have a quick swim. It’s ironic that I decided to go for a swim on the first day of Autumn and no sign of the end of the Summer in sight!
So far there are some wonderful colours dotted around and I’m looking forward to sharing more in the next couple of weeks.
My featured photo shows the surf lifesavers practicing their exercises. I thought this showed a certain order as I watched them paddling out, circling around and back again. (For Marsha’s WQ post).
In a sea of chaos and dismay
Order can brighten up your day.
An unbroken pattern of sound
That summons things around.
Another AI poem!
💌 Post from Perth 💌 – Dinner Dates and Lunch Liaisons
Who receives post in the mail these days? We never get anything exciting just bills and junk mail. I remember when I first moved to Hong Kong and I wrote to my mum and dad and friends once a week, and my return address was “Poste Restante”, Hong Kong. I used to go often with my passport to the General Post Office and wait with excitement to see who had written .. or who had not! Poste Restante is a general mail service worldwide where letters are sent to the General Post Office awaiting collection by the recipient. Has anybody ever used this service?
A Glimpse of My Week
Starting with our dinner date last Saturday, I had booked a table at a restaurant that was also a music venue. When we arrived we were seated right at the back but on a high table. This turned out to be a good thing as the music was so loud. The menu was fairly limited so I treated myself to a dessert, Lime Cheesecake with a Gin and Lime syrup. There was a gluten free option so I went for this. The keyword being “option”! How hard would it be to use gluten free biscuits. It was a wonderful venue though and the band were great.
Monday and Friday were also dinner dates, Monday a girls’ night and Friday with friends.
Enjoying cocktails on the terrace of a newly renovated hotel in our local town of Claremont
On Friday there was a special dining night at the golf club (I don’t play golf, just a social member!) a Latin American themed menu with tables on the terrace. We enjoyed the temperature and the wonderful evening sky.
Pre-dinner drinks 
Dusk
Also on Friday I finally caught up with a very good friend for lunch, and when we checked our diaries couldn’t believe that it had been five months since our last lunch. Where does the time go? We had more than enough to talk about in the short time we had.
Every other Wednesday I play bridge socially at the golf club which is followed by a lunch with the ladies who are playing. I’ve just joined this group so I’m gradually finding out about all these new friends.
Well not much else to report, Anthony’s passport finally turned up three months later! I did return to my “dancing in a line” on a Wednesday evening – a year later… I hope the steps come back to me eventually! They have learnt an awful lot of new dances, it was hard to keep up.
Posted as part of Weekend Coffee Share hosted by Natalie the Explorer and Terri’s Sunday Stills for Sweet – my no cake cheese cake!
~ What’s On Your Bookshelf ~ February 2023
What have I been reading this month? Not a lot, so it’s a combined post of January and February! I seem to have lost my BOJO (not Boris Johnson) but my Book Joy, so I’m looking forward to reading all the other posts linking to this challenge. The challenge is hosted by Deb, Jo, Sue and Donna and being considerable readers themselves will always have plenty of options to choose from.
As usual I’ll start with a Lisa Jewell. The Making of Us (clicking on the photo will take you to Goodreads). I enjoyed this book and it was very different from her other books. Lydia, Dean, and Robyn have lives that are poles apart but each of them, independently, has always felt that something was missing. What they don’t know is that a letter is about to arrive that will turn their lives upside down. It is a letter containing a secret—one that will bind them together and show them what love and family and friendship really mean. 4/5
A Town Called Solace – This story starts with a missing teenage girl. Told from three perspectives, Clara the younger sister, Mrs. Orchard the neighbour who is now in hospital and a stranger Liam who moves into Mrs. Orchard’s house. Such a feel good story, sad moments interspersed with happier ones, of people coming together. I will definitely be reading more of Mary Lawson’s books. 5/5
The Way It is Now – Set in Melbourne, featuring a burnt out police officer, Charlie Deravin, who has been trying to find out for many years what happened to his mother who disappeared many years ago. Quite gripping and a few twists and I was surprised how the ending happened so quickly. 4/5
The Innocent One – When I started reading this I didn’t realise it was a sequel of sorts but set ten years after the first book. Sebastian Croll is back and once again being accused of murder and he reaches out for his old lawyer, Daniel Hunter. Daniel helped prove Sebastian’s innocence before, can he do it again? An intriguing read with many twists and turns, had me gripped to the end. 4/5
Someone Else’s Shoes – I absolutely love Jojo Moyes’ books and this one was no exception. I would say it’s about four women, Sam, Nisha, Jasmine and Andrea who don’t all know each other in the beginning but will eventually meet. It’s also a tale of revenge against the gaslighting men in their lives. Who doesn’t like a story about revenge? A fun easy read. 4/5
~ Post from Perth – Weekly Catch up ~
It’s been almost a week now since I returned from the UK. The jet lag this time has taken longer than usual, and I’m in danger of getting in a loop, going to bed early and having a nap in the day! It has to stop. For the first few days I generally take a sleeping tablet, but that’s something I don’t want to get used to. Hopefully I will return to normal soon.
So where has the week gone? I took it easy on Monday and was supposed to unpack, I will finish it soon just a case (no pun intended) of putting the clothes away.
Tuesday I was back at the Bridge table and after drove straight to my daughter’s for a spot of babysitting. Wednesday I had Rosie again for a few hours, Lachie has started school and I will miss my munchkin Mondays.
Thursday and Friday more Bridge, no wonder I haven’t fully unpacked!
Being back in Perth is wonderful, my dear hubby has missed me and is glad to have me back. I have missed the sun and the warm weather, I can’t cope with English winters anymore.
Photos for Natalie’s Public Art Challenge
On my last day in Dublin I went for a walk near the hotel to have a look at the murals located on the walls of The Icon Walk.
Left – Gabriel Byrne – hosted The Late Late Show on a Saturday night, known as The Housewife’s Choice and a gentle shepherd.
Middle – Thomas Crean (1877 – 1938) – Explored the Antarctic three times with Scott and Shackleton. Awarded the Albert Medal for bravery
Right – “Priests on a remote island off the coast of Ireland managed to encapsulate Ireland’s changing consciousness about the church and that delicate matter, that, the anoited ones might be as imperfect as the rest of us; only funnier”
Aged 92 today
This was a lovely walk and I wish I had had more time to properly look at all the descriptions of the various artists. Ireland has produced so many famous authors over the decades and continue to do so. My favourites are Dervla McTiernan, Claire Keegan and Marian Keyes.
Weekly Catch up from Perth, WA
The mystery of the missing passport has been solved, it’s finally been delivered to the correct destination! I’m very glad I didn’t cancel it. Hopefully it won’t be too long before the new one arrives.
Another busy week, which started off with a trip to Rottnest.
Below are sculptures outside the Wadjemup Museum
Aboriginal Elder
I had a lovely catch up with my friends for dinner at one of our favourite restaurants overlooking the sea. There was a fabulous sunset that evening.
On Saturday we said goodbye to Laurence and Maddy as it was time for them to head back to Melbourne. It was wonderful that they had three weeks in Perth with us, but all good things come to an end.
I’m writing this from Singapore Airport, where I’m enroute to the UK. I flew Singapore Airlines from Perth and then Emirates to the UK. I thought I could check my luggage all the way through, but no! I ended up having to go through immigration, collect my case and back through again, what a pain as I’m travelling with a small cupboard.
Luckily I’ve been standing next to chunky men to help me with it! Actually it’s a ploy to cast my eyes around as to where to stand.
I’m off to visit my parents and to celebrate my mum’s 90th birthday. The change in weather is going to be aa shock, probably why my case is so heavy due to all the jumpers.
Anyway I’d better finish as will be boarding soon.
Posted for Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share
First week of 2023…Domestic Disasters and Passport Predicaments
I had somewhat presumptuously predicted a good 2023, I said I could feel it in my bones. Our first few days were lovely and quiet. We celebrated the new year just the two of us and I just about made it to midnight, only because I heard fireworks that I could view from the bedroom window.
Tuesday was a pretty good day also, coming first in Bridge, that hasn’t happened for a while. I’ve managed to infiltrate a social Bridge group on a Wednesday and played at a club with lunch after, very civilised.
Thursday started off as a pretty chilled day, everyone swimming in the pool, relaxing and having fun. I said to my daughter, let’s go to the beach. It was going to be 38 degrees. When we arrived all the carparks were full, so we had to drive slowly around stalking anybody walking back to their cars. Eventually we found somewhere and set off to buy buckets and spades, solar suit for Rosie and flip flops for Elena who had left the house barefoot. I think we spent 30 minutes on the beach as it was too hot and both kids had had enough. The water was glorious though and we needed one of those new fangled cabanas that everyone else seemed to have.
When we arrived home Anthony said he would shop for dinner. As he went into the garage, he heard a tap, tap, tap. Thinking it was a cockroach, he looked around and up and saw a hole in the ceiling with water pouring through. It was deemed an emergency. So I got onto the emergency plumber who came in an hour, quoted us an exorbitant price, which I accepted, I mean what could you do? Anthony had decided to go shopping anyway and so abdicated responsibility. He came back and declared that we could have flown to the UK for that price and interrogated the plumber about why it was so expensive. Anyway all fixed now, but finances have taken a loss.
Friday I thought I should check up on where Anthony’s new UK passport had got to. I finally got through to the Royal Mail in the UK to an actual person. The man was very polite and helpful and said, you can call it lost now! How can that be? Anthony said it’s probably been stolen, Laurence said it’s identity theft, really, I sincerely hope not. The UK passport office said if they don’t receive documents by a certain date they will cancel the application. I went to the Post Office here and another helpful man sent an email to someone who will send another email to customs in the UK. So I don’t know what to do, cancel the passport, apply for a new one or wait?
All these things are First World Problems I tell myself, they will eventually resolve themselves, maybe!
In the meantime I’ll be chilling in the garden.
I hope you’ve all had a great first week to 2023
