Toots

My rellies and friends are scattered all over the UK - from the north of Scotland right down to the south of England. I used to try to travel to see many of them but later on it was easier if we met up half way. One of my oldest friends who migrated to the US many years ago came over to the UK for a visit most times I was there which was lovely.

I'm sure it happens to a lot of people but I've been here for over 40 years and I am in close contact with one friend from my schooldays and friends I lived with in my teen years after I left home when I was 16. My sister and I are also very close even though we live so far apart and she comes here for a few months each year. We are retired so that makes it easier for longer stay holidays. One of my old friends from Lancashire visits Australia every 2nd year as she has a son in Sydney so we always have a very good get together when she is here. The others have never been to Australia but I always saw them when I went back to Scotland/England. I can't get up any enthusiasm to go back to the UK these days so I may not see them in person again which is kind of sad but I have very good friends here and am kept busy with one thing and another.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that A Levels and T Levels are being scrapped and will be integrated into a new baccalaureate style.

The weather has been lovely all of this month but tonight we had to light the log burner. It's decidedly nippy of an evening now.

I couldn't live in one of those houses even if they were half the price.

There have been 1.4 million views. Surely those dog boxes can't possibly be worth over a million each.

You must be joking!

That looks very depressing. Hopefully there is a large park nearby to make up for the lack of gardens. Are they social housing? If not I wonder how much each of those dwellings cost.

Nearly everyone I know adopted their dog from the local dog homes. Most are mixed breeds of all shapes and sizes with rescue greyhounds also high on the list. I feel sorry for the little pugs and French bulldogs on a warm day as you can hear them snorting and wheezing when they're out on their walks. Yes the doodle types are popular. They are generally lovely natured pooches.

I sort of agree with you about the politicians but who are you calling morons? The politicians or the general public?

Just googled some more suburbs to avoid and also the better ones. Lets start with the not so good. Depending on your housing affordability, the areas best to avoid are: Ravenswood, Waverly, Rocherlea, Mayfield, some of Mowbray and partly Newnham.- these areas are more prone to bad behaviour, lower socio-economic housing. Areas that are most preferable are Prospect, Newstead, Riverside- Trevallyn, West Launceston, Kings Meadows and Norwood.

First of all good luck with your interview. Hope it is successful. There are certainly suburbs to avoid in Launceston. Two that I can think of are Rocherlea and Ravenswood. They are both on the rough side. I live in Devonport and go to Launceston for a bit of shopping now and again. I like the place. It has a bit of character.

This may give you an idea of employment available in the firefighting industry. Of course you need a PR visas first of all and as the folk above have mentioned it's probably a good idea to contact a registered migration agent. https://www.seek.com.au/firefighter-jobs

Permanent residency does not expire. People with PR do not need to get their visa renewed. Surely you have documentation to prove you are a permanent resident. How old are you? Have you not got the passport from your own country to use as some sort of identification?

There used to be a large op shop at Broadway (Sydney) which had furniture. My two sons acquired quite a few good bits and pieces from there when they moved out of home.

When I retired, the much younger than me person who replaced me lasted 6 weeks. The next one lasted a couple of months. In the end two people were employed to do my job. The job was very varied and required attention to detail and could be stressful at times as strict time deadlines had to be met which meant working longer hours if necessary. I had a lovely assistant who worked with me for years but even she couldn't handle working with her new co-workers and found another job. I was glad to get out of it as a new CEO arrived not long before I retired and the company merged with another in NZ. The atmosphere was never the same after.

It was 5 degrees earlier this morning but I was kept warm mucking out the horses.

I was out walking in the mizzle this afternoon. No wind but the leaves were floating from trees.

You are going to get a lot of differing opinions. Australia is huge with quite large variations weather wise. I've been in Australia for over 4 decades and have found I prefer a cooler climate. I'm in Tasamania now after living in Sydney for a long time and Perth for not such a long time. No doubt about it, Australia is expensive especially housing. The length of holidays never bothered me as when I left the UK we had 2 weeks annual leave back then. Where are you thinking of coming to in Australia?

I've just given my sister the good news!

Yes I had to get stocked up with cold weather gear for the winters here in Tassie. My sister brought over some lovely wool jumpers from Scotland. She has one more week here. Hope the Scottish weather is kind to her when she gets home.

The winters in Sydney never bothered me at all. Sure you got cold days but the whole time I lived there I never needed an overcoat. I used to wait at the train station going to work and I'd be surrounded by other females dressed in thick winter coats, boots, scarves and gloves. I honestly never felt it cold enough. I used to look forward to staying with friends in Blackheath (Blue Montains) during winter for a dose of real wintery weather. Loved it! It also helps if you ensure your house is well insulated. Most of the houses are not built to a decent standard. Never could understand why they aren't.

I thought Sydney and Melbourne people were very smartly and fashionably dressed going to work and on a night out.

I think Qld weather is at its best in the winter months. Lovely sunny days not as much rain. The summers are far too hot, wet and humid for me.