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Big W is NOT a Bra Size

Beautiful mystery spot

Half Way
There it is, sitting before us. The glass is half empty or wait...is it half full? I can't decide. The way I see it is half full because it means we still have 6 more glorious months here. But, then the grims slide in and tell me about how fast the first 6 months have gone by and panic bestills my heart. All in all, and to make long matters of the heart short, I will see it as half full, enjoy the sheesh out of our next 6 months and then stare longingly at the empty glass next January. There it's decided.

Bras, bras and more brassieres

Right, onto the bra issue. If you spend enough time watching TV here, you will see 4 different bras advertised over and over. The problem is that they are ALL the same bra but cleverly marketed as the Miracle bra, the Smart bra, the AHHHH bra and the Genie bra. And they are basically a stretchy little bra that claims boob perfection if worn. The marketing strategy is that depending on which 1-800 number you call to order from, you get different freebies--like the inserts that make one look perky and young, or a fushcia and lavender bra, or a litte lasso that pulls all straps into a neat hiding space. I just don't get it. I've become a wee bit obsessed with all of the hoopla, and then discovered that you can basically buy an inexpensive alternative at Target and Kmart and Big W.

Shopping in the Shepp

Here's the thing. No matter what you need, you can find it in Shepp. You could drive 2 hours south to the amazing world of shopping in Melbourne to the many DFO's (Direct Factory Outlets), the crazy full of character streets and shops and the Chadstone Mall, the 9 glamourous floors of Myers and David Jones, but in the end, shopping in the Shepp ROCKS! You can hit the Shepparton Market Place for groceries, clothes, haircuts, meat from the hunky butcher's kiosk, visit the doctors that don't speak English, chemists (pharmacy for the non-Aussies), dollar store Made in China wonderland and doughnuts. Shoes and dishes, movies and jewels...you name it, all combined and located within a convienent driving distance. Oh yeah, AND they stay open past noon! Many shops downtown close by 1:00 pm on a Saturday, probably so that the shop owners can head out to the Market Place!
Big W is one of our favourites. If you go later in the evening, anything past 7:00pm., you can have the whole place to yourself. There's always a gal standing at the front of the store directing you to use the proper entrance. Even if you are the only one sneaking in for a late night chocolate treat and toilet paper run, you still must use the proper entrance. Don't mess with her. She has tatts and sass and takes her job seriously.

Big W is a combination of Kmart, Target, Saan and Sears. It's a one stop shop for anything and even the occasional fashion accessory. It's basically a teenage girl's nightmare to have to go there with their excited and 'on a tight budget' mom who goes straight to the sale items and holds things up with enthusiasm. Hey, this is a nice top! They high tail it the farest reaches of sporting goods hoping NOT to be seen there on a Saturday night with me. Oh well, I'm not proud. That's the good thing about being me.

The center of Shepp city is full of arcades. Not the kind we think of with ching ching and buzzing and beeping. Arcades here a little side alley street malls. They hide little quaint shops and services. There are many here and zillions in Melbourne! The open street mall in Shepp center on a Saturday morning is a busy bee hangout. There is usually a singer belting out some old funky tunes entertaining bored husbands. Lots of skateboards with unexplainable hairdoos, and happy shoppers. We like going there. Apart from some good clothing shops and cupcake cafes, we always make a bet on how many people we will run into.
Even though we've only been here for 6 months, a trip downtown becomes a social event! I usually see at least 2 people I know, not counting all of the little Grahamvale kids who I usually don't recognize without the yellow uniforms. Emma and Bon's are mortified as it's a constant stream of kids they know. They are embarassed to see people which I don't understand! Say HELLO! EMBRACE the small city atmosphere! ENJOY running into your friends! It's so different because when they run into their friends in Edmonton, it's like they haven't seen each other in 10 years. Here, it's...quick, dip into this shop to avoid bumping into friends...Another unexplainable teenage phenomena I suppose.

Family Holidays

Mother's Day was awhile back, I know. But I must comment on this special day. In the eyes of Mom's everywhere, we see the day as a special recognition for all that we do, how much we put up with and how much we mean to everyone. Ya, whatever. The best part of Mother's Day is seeing what a kid can do on a very skimpy budget of whatever pocket money their Dad has. So, at our school, the parents' council does this brillant fundraiser. Somewhere in China, there is a place that makes pretty nice things for Moms and then there are some very talented parents with time to make crafts. What happens is all children bring in the pocket money and come to the Mother's Day stall in the library. The items and parent crafts are displayed on tables. Each table has a different price, ranging from a couple of dollars maxing out at five.
I was in the library laminating some papers when all of the preps (5 year olds) came in with their hard earned cash! It was soooo sweeet seeing what they did! Can you imagine being a 5 year old and going shopping with some BIG CASH?!! They all wandered around looking at the precious items and then selecting one that was sure to fit any mother's dream present. They would bring it to the parent's table, pay the bill and have it wrapped in a fine brown lunch bag adorned with a bow. Proudly they would wander back in line and compare goods.
After I finished laminating, I turned to go and there was a rather young fellow with a serious expression, standing there staring at me blankly. Well, did you buy your mom a nice gift, I asked. He replied, Yes, I bought her a big pink pearl. How lovely, I replied. He was beaming with pride that only a boy of 5 years old can do. I asked him what table he chose his gift from and he pointed to the big pink bathbomb table. Then, after a few seconds of me trying not to laugh and cry at the same moment, he said, May I go back in line now?
Another commercial that has more reruns than a viral kitten is that of Micheal Crawford! Yes, he's a famous Australian. The first and foremost 'Phantom of the Opera' singer, he milks it for all it's worth! Micheal Crawford' s greatest hits, Micheal Crawford's favourite hits, Micheal Crawford's most dreadful hits, you name it. Anyway, Emma and Bonnie wanted to make me a nice Mother's Day gift, which I always treasure and anticipate! The day arrived and they presented me with Micheal Crawford's Mother's Day Treasures. But, when I opened the disc up it was 'The Black Keys' burned from Itunes. Oh thank God I didn't have to kill them. And, for those of you out there who don't know about this band, trust me, the girls are safe and sound.

Amazing Shepperkid art

Only Out of the Mouths of Children
There are a few confusions that happen when trying to communicate with people. But, some things are simply quite internationally kid things....
One student asked me why we can't keep chooks (chickens) in our yards back home. It's against city by-laws, I explained. Oh, he replied. Well, if you give me your address in Canada, I can send you some fresh eggs.
Then there is a lovely student who was trying to decide whether or not the good ol' days were better than today in a persuasive writing piece. She decided that nowadays are better because it would have been boring not to see in colour back then.

A Sweet Treat
Would you rather sink your teeth into a juicy, yet firm bikie or an old dried out bickie? Well, either one you chose will end you up in trouble! Here in Australia, a bikie is a biker. A leather clad motor bike gang guy who is trouble no matter how you slice him. A bickie is a gentle cookie served with tea. It serves as a beautiful crust to all of the slices served here, like jelly slice, chocolate slice, lemon slice, hedgehog slice and vanilla slice. I am going to bring home a 'slice' cookbook and open a Mother's Day shop back home!

Fait Accompli les Filles

Mom's have the right to brag. It's their prerogative. So, here it is. Bonnie has been a trooper here in Australia. She doesn't complain too much about things and is able to plow through the fields of teenage hood well in an alien environment. We said Ok, to the pink hair as our battles could be much worse. And, she continues to strive at playing the guitar in the confines of her room without lessons. So, when she nonchalantly told us of her music show at school, we quickly jumped to it! Her music performance was an all time great as she and other students put on a grassroots show to amaze. Here is a picture of her strumming in accompaniment to some other students' song. Then she came home with this and slid it across the table, again nonchalantly. She had a music assignment to complete which compared either a classical musical period with another or a composer's work to another. YAH for my KID!

Emma is taking ceramics. She is loving it! I'm glad to be able to substitue my carry on bag home for a carry on pot!! She also made a sweet car replica too and the teacher said that if I can't bring it home that she'd be glad to keep it. My only worry is that she is going into advanced ceramics in July and her pots will be HUGE! Big, giant pots! I'm afraid that I can't afford another seat on the plane for those though.

Winter's Around the Corner

Frog lying lifelessly under a broken branch

The fall's months have so far been quite lovely! Any leaves that will shed, have fallen. The gum trees just shed bark constantly so we've been sweeping and raking up around the yard. The foliage does pile up quickly though and the pile is building! We feel a bonfire coming on! So, with a few weeks of branches and such collected, we took a picture of our pile and sent it to Julie and Andrew. No, they said, ours is much bigger before we burn it. So, back to work, and because we'd had a big wind storm, we accumulated more of a mountain. We took another picture to see if we'd make the bonfire cut.

Frog is a fearless fire eater. This dog will bite out candles and destroy any procurement related to firemaking. She has stalked boxes of matches, licked the edges of the fire place clean to build a water border and even barked at wood. So, when we told Julie and Andrew of our plans to have the bonfire in the dead of winter on July 1st, they said, Go for it but just make sure Frog is far away!

It's almost June 23rd...First day of winter

Apart from Frog's antics, we enjoy the heat from the fireplace. There are 2 other heaters in the house, one at the girls' end and one near the lounge area. The girls' heater works like a charm, but we were having difficulty getting the other one to work. Brian called the repair guy, who arrived armed with lots of tools and such. He started to open the panel and then stopped. Looking back at us shivering folk, he said, You may want to back up. Sometimes things fall out of these. I of course, took affirmative action and stepped in closer! Once the panel was removed, we spotted the source of our problem. Two lizards and what looked like either a snake or a rat were fried and roasted, staring back at us.

Can you spot the lifeless lizard?

The End of Bea and Kevan

Speaking of the untimely passing of electrolizads in the heater, we've also lost our two first (and last) hens, Bea and Kevan. Bea was a delicate feathered one and succumbed to unknown causes, although we think maybe a spider bite. Kevan ruled the roost for a few more weeks, but alas with her heart full of woe, she bit the dust. They have now entered the food chain as a smart little fox dug them up and devoured them for dinner.

After a few days of not eating chicken out of respect for them, the doorbell rang. It was our lovely, thoughtful friend whose family owns an orchard not too far away. She gathered up the girls, unbeknownst to me, and within a short time, the girls returned with a peeping cardboard box. Inside were two extremely small ducks! Na, no way. Not in this life time Darlings, was my reply. Ya, they were cute. But needy. I finally conceded to my fate of being a duck mom. How can you turn away the only two surviving ducks out of fifteen? Thirteen froze on a very cold evening and these little troopers would have been a tasty tea for the german shepard that roamed the orchard. So, fate sent them my way. Err....

Two small ducks living in a laundry basket

Peeking Duck

Well, life goes on and in two days the stripy duck had a most misfortunate mishap. Someone, most likely the sneaky fox ate him. But, Posie, the yellow duck has risen to the top. She gets a daily bath in a hot water tub, blow dried and four meals or more. Weirdly, though, she tripled in size one weekend. We left her in the hands of one of my students and went to Melbourne. Upon return, Posie the Peeping Machine turned into Gigantasaurus DUCK! I screamed when I saw her! My only thoughts were "How will we afford to raise a duck AND two teenage daughters?!" She now peeks over the edge of the laundry basket and watches to see what you are up to. Her peeping is slowly turning into a quack though. I was working on report cards last week when I heard a definitive quack! Yes, she said her first quack. So, I brought her to school last week, hoping that some child would become bespeckled with joy and need to bring her home. A few came back the next day and said, If you talk to my mom, she might let me keep her. I'm working on it.

In any case, I need to take the sign off of my head that says, 'Give all needy animals to me?' At least, Posie has become friends with Frog and spends supervised time outside nibbling away at the duckweed! More photos next time...

STEEERRIKEEEE...YOU'RE OUT!

I heard wind of this through the chatter in the staff room at lunch that teacher's were getting grumpy. Waz Up, I asked. It turns out that the state government is not a whole lot different than Alberta! It had promised plans for teachers if they got elected. A raise that would move Victorian teachers from the bottom of Australian teacher's salaries to being one of the highest paid.

Of course, these guys in office sign promises to get elected and then convienently hide them like chewy bits in a dinner napkin. When faced with the prospect of actually carrying through with the deal, they decided that they would offer the money with a twist! Of course, this deal was a proposition that was despicable. Hey, you guys can have your increase in pay if you work harder and longer! Ya, just the top 10 percent of you will get the big bucks because you work really hard. You show determination, you show dedication, you show above and beyond the expected growth of your students compared to the other ninety percent of less hard working teachers, so you get extra money. It's called 'Performance Pay'.

My mouth dropped open and sadly stayed there for many minutes. HOW RIDUCULOUS! I don't know any teachers who don't put in 150%! For all people out there that think we are only interested in holidays (well, sort of) and money, THINK AGAIN FELLAS! Teachers ultimately are there for kids. And that's it. Kids come from all places with all faces and none are the same. Some achieve, some struggle to achieve and some don't give a shit. But, it's our job to educate them and we work our asses off, for all of them. So Mr. Premier of Victoria, I invite you to c'mon down and spend a day at our beautiful school and bring your big fat wallet because all of these teachers should be getting 150% 'Performance Pay' buster!

Right, take a deep breath Beth...Focus...

So, thus the reason for the strike action. If you belong to the union, which by the way is NOT compulsory, you could choose to take strike action for one day. Most of the teachers took a stand and advised their classes to stay home. But, they could come if they really needed to. Then, all of the Year 5/6 teachers and a couple of others stayed on for the one day of strike. I,of course, had no choice but to attend school with my students and actually only a few younger kids showed up. It was a productive day with one movie, 2 hours of computer technology and then an hour of social dancing on the tarmac. In the end, nothing really has changed in terms of pay increases, etc. Only time will tell.

Echuca

Bonnie finds all the cats!

The Murray River surrounded by gum trees

This is not the sound of an awkward sneeze. This is a beauty of a little town not far from Shepp. It's on the Murray River and is an olden day town whose history is unique due to the paddleboats opening up this inland setting for trade in the 1800's. It's retained its quaintness and local historical significance and one can wander along the streets for treats like lollies and kitties.

These are delectable cakes made of CHEESE!

The paddleboats are still in use for a tour up and down the Murray. As well, there are many dairy farms, orchards and sheeeeep! I find them especially cute with their lambs quietly grazing in the morning fog.

Lollies are candy here. There are many little changes between North American English and Aussie talk! Here are a few:

Light globes burn out and need changing. 'Paper, scissors, rock' decides something. Dodgy is the alternative to being questionable in behavior. Kids colour with texters. Milk bars are the corner stores that sell everything plus take away food like chips with gravy and chicken salt...Double YUM! Adidas is NOT pronounced like we say it. Emphasize the second syllable...a DID ass. If you're pretty special, you're IT and a BIT! EFTPOS is interac. Ta means thanks and Na means no. Any word that ends in an 'ear' sound is two syllables--for examples, near is neeeah. If you have a doosy stack, you've had a bad bash into someone. You make jot points if you are taking notes from a book or video. A ballie is what you hold over your head in the rain. If you reckon something, you think it. And then there's my favourite...'I can't be bothered'. That's what kids say when things get tough. I've heard teachers say this too. It's a good blanket exhaultation to express a sense of weariness in all situations.

One day we were having tea in the staffroom. This occurs at 11:00 am, and is a light snack with tea. One of the teachers commented on how she wanted to learn about sponges and pavs. I looked at her with a tilted head and said, 'That sounds like a rather derogatory term to use for unsavory people you'd see on the street.' No, my DEAR! These are of course cakes. And then another teacher said, 'But it's an adequate description for all of those air heads out there!'

Frog waiting patiently whilst we are in the Lollie shoppe

But, back to Echuca. We piled into the car on shiny Sunday and drove out for a visit. Emma and Bonnie's friend Keenan came along for the ride. He is actually from British Columbia and moved here with his family last year. He and Emma are partners in the 'Let's Entertain' class at their highschool and I've heard that it's a royal gong show with them in there. The food they bring home is sometimes rather tasty though! Sultana slice last week went over well with the magpies!

Can you spot the statue of Ned Kelly?

GO PIES! They say Magpie Footy fans have no teeth...THE SHAME!

So, we are walking along the street in Echuca. You can pop into the butcher, then the bakery, then the lollie shop and the library! Actually, we've never seen the library open when we've been there, but they always have a cart out in front with free books. So, you can imagine the girls when they saw that they had cleaned out all of their teen fashion books! FEEDING FRENZY!! I told them that 10 was enough but they had a good point. Most of the people in Echuca seem to be retired. What interest would they have in teen trends.

Melbourne Cricket Ground and NATIONAL SPORTS MUSEUM

A few weeks ago, all the grade 5/6 classes went to Melbourne for an excursion, aka. field trip! Brian came along after a little convincing. He was afraid of having to spend six hours on a bus with 100 students, although we did have two buses. Excursions for Shepperkids (my new name for Shepparton childern) are quite costly. There is not too much around here that they haven't seen and mostly any new experiences require some driving.

Jenny Owens talking to Shepperkids

We arrived at school at 7:30 am, loaded the bus with kids and supplies and headed off. We arrived at the MCG and headed into the Sports Museum first. WOW! I am not a total sports fanatic, but this was one interesting place! They have artifacts from way back and right up to today. My favourite things were Ian Thorpe's size 17 swim deck shoes and Cadel Evans Tour de France 2011 winning bike. There was also a ski cross Olympian, Jenny Owens on hand to meet with the kids.

Lamps to support grass

Cricket Pitching Machine

The MCG tour was a whirlwind of info about the history and building information. Peter, our guide was a rather passionate man and dressed in his red, white and blue striped suit and tie, he didn't miss a beat! The oval grass used to cost 2 million dollars a year to replace twice because the shade from the seats didn't give enough UVB light. Now, they have huge lights on the field when it's not in use and don't need to replace it anymore. One light globe replacement from the giant lights costs $20,000. Underneath the 105 000 seat levels are cricket practice areas for each of the teams. The cricket throwing machine sends the balls to the batters at 160km/h. You can't even see the ball fly by! I'd be dead.

Dang it! You can't wear thongs!

Then there is the Member's Only areas which we were privee to see! You go on a waiting list the minute you are born, that is if you are lucky enough to have someone nominate you. Then, when you turn 18 and if enough people have retired one of their seats, you can become a member. The cost of approximately $500.00 per year gets you into any event, to always have a reserved seat, and also into attendance into other big cricket joints like in London, UK. As well, you can eat in the dining rooms and use the see thru bathrooms! These are equiped with one way glass so you can see out whilst relieving yourself and not be seen wiping up! Two hundred thousand people are on the waiting list. And that's a long line up outside the bathroom during half time break!

Grahamvale group crossing Fitzroy Gardens

Possums do damage in public gardens

On the way home, a funny thing happened. Brian and I were in the front seat behind the bus driver. Suddenly Brian's phone rings. It's about 3:30 and we're an hour from Shepp. It's Emma and Bonnie. Their bus transfer left before they got there and they were stranded in town. My theory about life is that all problems are just a solution waiting to happen, so after a few minutes of thinking, one of my student's parents calls another and the girls get a ride home. I turned to Brian and said, Emma told me that Bill wasn't driving their bus this morning and that's why the new bus driver didn't wait for them. Suddenly the bus driver turns around and says, You're right, 'cuz I'm Bill! I told that guy to wait!! He's gonna get it tomorrow! Bill is a great guy! One of those bus drivers that acutually can get teenagers to talk in the morning! And, seeing that there are only about 20 bus drivers in the city, we're pretty lucky to have Bill as the girls' bus driver! He knows all the streets in Victoria and has great stories to share. He was pointing out all of the areas that were burned in the 2009 fires and how the gum trees were coming back. I'm going to make him a big batch of slices!

What I feel like doing on most field trips!

All in all, it was a great day! Even Brian, who has an innate fear of large groups of children, loved it! His first comment upon pulling into the school parking lot was, Wow! That was really great! I thought I'd be surrounded by noisy paperball throwing kids! Well, apart from the paperballs and a carsickie, those Grahamvale kids rock! So well behaved!

The Wonder of White Bread and the Sausage Sizzle
I know that I spend alot of time discussing food, but it's a constant source of happiness heeah and well who doesn't indulge at least 6 times daily? White bread here has as many uses as paper. Okay, maybe more even. The first time we went to a soccer game, everyone lined up at the canteen after to have a bbq'ed sausage or hamburger. Everyone eats these beloved meats on BREAD! Not buns, but yummy, very yummy ever so soft fresh white bread. With sauce. Or dead horse as they refer to tomato sauce. I haven't quite got the handle on why tomato sauce is called dead horse. Not sure I even want to know. But, you can order from the canteen at all soccer and outdoor sports events, pies (dog's eyes), pasties, sausage on white bread or eggs and bacon on bread. Tomato sauce is NOT ketchup either. It's slightly different, less sweet, but alas tasty as ever. And no buns. We had a sausage sizzle which is a barbeque with sausages, onions, sauces, and other bits and pieces, at school a few weeks ago and there was about 20 loaves of fresh white SOFT bread left over. We set up a little table in the rain and as parents arrived to drop off the Shepperkids, they could buy the leftovers. It was gone in about 3 minutes!

The Grahamvale kids at 'The Beauty and the Beast'

One of Many Wineries to Come

Mr Monichino and Brian sharing

We were lucky enough to get invited to a winery day at Monichino Wines, just outside of Shepparton. This special day evolved many years back when the high school used it as a fundraiser. Nice fundraiser was my first thought! Just think of all the chocolate covered almonds that I wouldn't have bought if I could support good causes by drinking wine! In anycase, this day was a smaller version of the originals. It just got too big, the organizer said. Well, no wonder! What you would do is go in, bottle and label the wine, then buy it at a good price. I guess some of the money went back to the school. So, we arrived with girls and Keenan in hand and started labelling bottles. They don't bottle it anymore, as the machines are more efficient, especially after the wine and port tastings. Then, the owners of the winery offer homemade tapas, all done with home grown vegetables and olive oils. MMMmmm! It was a splendid afternoon sitting in the sun, sipping and sampling wines. That's why they bring everyone out on a bus, driven by Bill!

Yet another cat discovered by Bonnie at the winery.

Yes, these are our children who haven't been drinking wine

When you get lemons...

Of course you make lemonade! For 75 kids! We have a lovely lemon tree in the yard which we thought were limes at first. So, we made lime dishes, very enjoyable and tarte! THen, surprisingly, the limes turned a beautiful yellow. I decided to pick a few bags and bring them into school. My class of Year 5/6 students and their 5 year old prep buddies all went out into the winter sun to squeeze lemons. We had a great time collecting the juice in big bowls, along with a few other squeezed mystery bits and pieces! We figured that the acidity of the lemons would kill off any unpleasantness. Then we added sugar and water and enjoyed watching many sticky and sourpussed kids slurp it back! I think our lemonade was even better than Safeway's brand!

Any Spare Change?
Money in Australia is quite fun to have! Or course, the more the better, but it's kind of a magpie thing. Lots of shiny silver and gold to collect for your nest! The dollar bills come in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100s. There are made with some special polymer that resists tearing, and ruffing up. It has clear little windows on it as well. The coins are 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent pieces and 1 dollar and 2 dollars coins. The 5, 10, 20, and 50 coins are silver and size appropriate. The 50 cents coin is one everyone loves! It's big and must have something like 20 sides! Then, the dollar and 2 dollar coins are deceiving. The two dollars is a nice, little heavy gold dubloony type coin which I love! The dollar is twice the size! The thing I like though is that there are NO PENNIES! But, shop purchases have all sorts of prices. Seventy-nine cents, $2.46, you name it! Everything is rounded either down or up to the nearest five cents. So, when they teach rounding in math here, they mean it!

The Princess Theatre in the CBD

Speaking of fun funds, going to Melbourne near the end of June is a gosh darn good way to empty your pockets. Before you leave, hide your credit card. Freeze it in a baggie of ice, and send to the Arctic. I bet you will still be chasing the plane to get it back! The end of June is the end of the financial year so the store are eager to share their wares at cheaper prices. Well, we decided to go down to Melbourne for the long weekend mid-June thanks to the Queen having a birthday...Long live the Queen and thanks for the day off!

The perfect gift for those 'hard to buy for' friends

Anyway, shopping in Melbourne is 5 STAR! You can go cheap at the Discount Factory Outlets or go crazy in the Central Business District (CBD) with it's 9 floor department stores like Myer's and David Jones. You can venture off the beaten track to funky side streets like Brunswick and Fitzroy where you could potentially transform yourself from a teacher type to a daring dramatic diva in one of the vintage shops. Of course, two teenage girls make you move fast and furiously. Brian is always a weary hero on these trips. In the end, I scored BIG with a 10 dollar pair of shoes made in China and a bag of lollies!

Fall in OZ

All areas of Melbourne are easily accessible by tram, train, and bus. The downtown has a great tram called the City Circle Tram which is free and full of info. There is a running narrative of the history and significance of all the buildings and parks. They are old historical trams that run by every ten minutes and hopping on and off on different stops is a day's fun!

Great designs of old and new mixed in architecture

So, when the rain and wind started to pick up, we headed for the nearest stop. The wind was strong and a huge branch of an ol' gum tree came tumbling down onto a passing car. The woman's windshield was smashed and she was a bit shocked. The tram pulled up and we piled on for a warm and calm ride, complete with the running narrative of what we had missed. A couple of stops later, a MOB of revelling beer breathing footie fans suddenly squished on. And with that, the tram lurched forward and so did most of them, onto me and Emma! You can't be sitting on the tram seat whilst 10 boisterous footy boys stand over you and NOT be bothered! The jokes and their improprieties made for rousing few stops of fun. I've always wondered what guys talk about amongst themselves and now I know. Let's just say, I'm glad Emma's 16!