Some more days around Perth (15 - 20/3/14)

15th March

This morning Sandra, Geoff and I popped in to see Molly's parents, Leanne and Brian, to drop off some biscuits that Sandra had had made, for Molly's hen party which was starting at their house. After that we went to a local event called a 'Harmony Day' which is an event organised to bring all the different religions and nationalities together in one place and to meet each other. It's a great idea as all the different nationalities cook food throughout the event that everyone gets to try. And best of all...it's free. Free foooooodddddd. Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh. This always makes my world a better place. There were curries, hot dogs, pasta's, chilli's, pineapple smoothies...so of course I went back a few times. They also have dances on and singing and people playing musical instruments. I had to look after a snake while the owner had a bite to eat and despite it only being small, because it had the word python in it's name I was definitely not entirely comfortable having it round my neck for an extended period of time. After the food frenzy we drove home and Geoff and I went to pick the bike up. We were invited to sit down at their table while Pete filled out the change of ownership documents and we met his wife Tina and his Dad. Again we chatted for a while and the whole family seemed really friendly. The Triumph was uncovered this time and it was certainly stunning and full of character. I can't remember the model but it looked like a very comfortable ride. I told them about where I wanted to take the Yamaha and they gave me their Facebook details to add them later so they could keep up with my travels on the blog and to see where the bike got to. Once everything had been sorted we said our goodbye's and I followed Geoff home on the bike. I dropped my suit off to a dry cleaners, that I had eventually found, to be pressed and got told off for putting it in a plastic bag. "You should never store a suit like that" the Indian owner said whilst wagging his finger. My Uncle interjected, "Mate it's brand new, you should have seen the size of the box it came from Vietnam in. Trust me that's much better than it was". He still didn't look pleased and the higher price he quoted reflected that. I spent the rest of the day hunting on the internet to find a decent deal on a lock for the bike and had a swim later on. That evening I went to Brendan and Molly's to chill for a bit and to see how the wedding plans were going. They seemed to be pretty well organised. I didn't stay too late and went to bed shortly after getting home.

16th March

Today Sandra, Geoff and I got up early to go to a swap meet as I needed to buy a crash helmet as I'd only borrowed the other one up till now. These are just like our car boot sales with everything from A to Z for sale. In the end I left there with two crash helmets and a USB lead that screws to the battery of the motorbike all for $50 (about 28 quid). Bargain. When we got home Geoff and I went over the road to help a neighbour, Lillian, build some Ikea cupboards which took most of the day and after that we came home and Geoff cooked Pizza for me, him and Brendan, who came round because Molly's hens party was tonight and all the women went out for that. I skyped home and spent a while chatting on that with Mum and Dad. After dinner Brendan went home and Geoff and I watched TV for the night and Sandra came home at a surprisingly reasonable hour and told us about the hens party and at some point I went to bed.

17th March

Today Geoff and I went to the Driver licencing department to change ownership of the bike to his name and then we went to Bunnings, which is like B & Q, to pick up some bits for mounting the Ikea cupboards, from yesterday, on the wall and in Bunnings they have THE best toolbox ever. It's got a stereo, TV and fridge as well as plenty of space for tools. Just check out the photo. Why do we not have these at home! After that we finished installing the cupboards at Lillian's and in the afternoon I skyped my sister, Emma, and my nephew, Finn. It was great to see them as I hadn't seen them since I'd left and Finn was very funny on skype, despite hanging up the call and shutting the whole computer down! Lol. After this I had a very lazy day and evening as I was knackered from working on the cupboards. I got quite an early night tonight.

18th March

Today was a very lazy day. I took the bike out for a spin and did a bit of shopping. I went back to the ginormous camping shop to have a proper look round, I couldn't stay away, and bought a couple of bits. It's actually not badly priced which was a good thing. I then rode to a bike shop to check out the locks they have and found one which has an alarm in it too. It was pretty cheap as locks go but is chunky enough and it'll do the job while I'm here. I then popped out to pick up some food bits for dinner. Once I got home I spent the afternoon lazing around the house and then I made a Thai green curry for the three of us as Sandra and Geoff had to pop out for a wedding rehearsal. It must have been quite good because Geoff went back for seconds. Lazy evening and late to bed.

19th March

Today I got up pretty early and actually went for a jog first thing. I have no idea how far I got but jogged out for about 10 minutes and then jogged/walked/wondered what the pink spots I was seeing were for the 10 minutes back. I don't usually make a point of running unless I'm being chased but I really want to get rid of my beer belly before I get home, and this is the perfect climate to do it in. Hopefully it'll get easier from here. In the afternoon I skyped Jade which I was actually a little nervous about because I hadn't physically spoken to her since I'd left and wondered if the conversation would be difficult, but she wouldn't shut up! Lol, only joking honey. We actually talked for ages and lost track of time so her next customer at work turned up rather unexpectedly and she had to go. In the afternoon I helped Brendan rake up all the dead leaves in his back yard and put some mulch down on his flower beds to spruce up the garden before the lads come round tomorrow night for his final drink up as a single man. Another lazy evening at home but in bed early as I'm up early tomorrow morning to go to the beach to help take Bren and Molly's dog for a run.

20th March

Brendan and Molly picked me up at 7 to take me to the dog beach near Cottesloe. It was great to be up at that time and on the beach. It was warm with a cool breeze blowing in from the sea. I took the opportunity to have another run and managed to last for about a 15 minute jog this time before turning round and coming back. I still walked some of the return journey but was pretty pleased that the spots were only green this time. We stayed there for about an hour or so and then they dropped me home. I jumped in the pool when I returned and had a shower before having some breakfast. Later that morning I picked up my suit from the dry cleaners which had only just been pressed and returned home. In the evening Geoff and I went to Brendan's for his final drink and Sandra went to Molly's parents where Molly was spending the night. There were a few lads at Brens and they had a good laugh while they reminisced about some of the characters they'd all met at some point or other since they'd known each other. One by one they went home though and Geoff and I helped tidy up before heading home ourselves. Tomorrow was the big day.