2015 The Year in Review

So I said farewell to the Year of 2014 and welcomed in 2015...but have to admit I was in bed when the chimes rang out.....

 Lauren was with me from Canada [Cathy & Rob's daughter] so we drove down to Bunburry to visit long time friends from Jabiru - Merrilyn & Arthur Shirley.

Their oldest son Daniel and his fiancee were also there and we spent a few days catching up, recalling the many great time together and touring the fantastic West Australian coast and Margaret River area.

Merrilyn and I tried out the go cart at the Evans and Tate Winery!

April 2015 I got some awful news...my eldest sister Deb had had a bleed on the brain and the prognosis was not good. She ended up being hospitalised for over 5 months and as the year drew to a close had suffered a setback and was still struggling to come to terms with her new life and what the future would hold for her.

In June my new car was delivered, as part of my contract with NT DoE I pay a fortnightly contribution but have limited choice in the car.

In December I flew to Perth for the Hugh Jackman Concert [see separate blog post] with Di Sullivan & Donna Westaway [plus Matty & Daisy]. I ended up with an empty seat next to me for the flight so Daisy spent some time keeping me company...remind me NEVER to give a young child a meat pie in a box with tomato sauce on a plane and let them try to eat it on their own...she may look like an angel but the sauce went everywhere!!!!!

We had a great few days with Trish and the family at East Freemantle, including a great catch up with Cheryl and Michel LeCointre.Then along with Janelle Underwood headed off on a girls road trip to Busselton [Margaret River area] to tour and visit with Merrilyn & Arthur Shirley.

Tracking my travels and places I have lived

Places I have visited......still so many more to travel to....

View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint

Places I have lived......wonder where I will move to next?

View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint

Concerts and Entertainment through 2015

I was fortunate enough to be able to travel and attend a few concerts in the latter part of the year....

Taylor Swift 1989 World Tour in Brisbane December 2015

52 000 people at SunCorp Stadium in Brisbane.

 Hugh Jackman: Broadway to Oz in Perth December 2015

Amazing show at the Perth
Arena with about 15 000 other people.

The show was all about his journey through the years and demonstrated his versatility and skill as a performer.
Well worth the trip to Perth to see!

Country Cruisin 2015

In October I headed off for a country music feast - on board The Royal Caribeean Boat
For Cruising Country 2015 along with Trish and Johnny Westaway, Marion MacKenzie, Sue Carlson, Sara Storer and her sister Kate.

Davis Cup Tennis in Darwin July 2015

Wow, what an experience this was...
A special court was constructed for the event at Marrara Stadium.

I had flown back in from Singapore, worked for a few days and had heard how disappointing the performances on court were by the Aussies on the opening day.

The Saturday Leyton Hewitt & Sam Groth teamed up for the doubles and to the great joy of the crowd they won the match.
I had tickets for the final singles matches on the Sunday.
No announcement had been made as to who would play...
Big cheers went up from the crowd as Sam Groth took the court and after a very long tough match he won!

At the final moment it was announced that Leyton Hewitt would play the final match - the cliffhanger which would decide if the Aussie Team got to the semi finals later in the year.

Well for the next 4 hours we were all on the edge of our seats in that hot Darwin sun. After nail biting points and many tie breaks and match points Leyton took out the match resulting in the tie going to Australia!

My long time favourite tennis player Pat Rafter was also spotted taking close note of all the action in his role as Davis Cup Captain.

2015 July Visiting Singapore once again

In the middle of our July break I headed back to Singapore to visit my good mates Libby & Eric Smith. While I did manage to visit a few new places and try out some new restaurants the main purpose was to relax and catch up with great friends.

On the Sunday after flying in and settling in I spent some time relaxing by the pool and then traveled by the very efficient MRT to meet Lib & Eric at Kovan Branch of Morris Allan English. 

I arrived in time to play a game of 'Bananagrams' with Lib and 2 of her pupils and we then headed to Joe's - a local eatery for dinner with some of their friends.

On Monday Lib and I relaxed at home for the morning whilst Eric went walking with their usual walking group. Lib & I then ventured down to the local shops for a firm foot massage....

That evening we headed into Bugis Junction to the Blue Jazz Bar for a staff function and capped off the night with a visit to the Wine Fairy once again amazed as this young girl 'flies'up on wire to get the bottle of wine of your choosing!









Tuesday Lib was a tad unwell but came with me to meet some other people working at MAE to the movies to see 'Far From The Madding Crowd'. I recall vaguely reading this in school and was quite impressed with the movie....
While we were out Eric went shopping and came back with an Apple TV....I will be off to the shops as soon as I am back in Oz to get one for myself...huge possibilities.

For dinner we caught the local bus a way down the road to 'Saturdays'- a new restaurant Eric & Lib had discovered.

Wednesday Lib & I spent some time down at the pool and I then visited the Apple Shop with Eric to learn more about the integration between the Apple TV and our iPhones / iPods. I then met up with Shanta from Darwin for the afternoon. Great chance to catch up and chat - for some reason we do not seem to get time for this in Darwin.

Thursday we all ventured into the city area and the Fountain of Wealth at Suntec City - an attraction I had not been to previously.  It was listed by the Guinness Book of Records in 1998 as the largest fountain in the world, inspired by the Hindu mandala. This time we turned up in time to go out into the middle and absorb the positive ‘qi’ which should bring us good luck. Keep your fingers crossed.

So then Lib & Eric headed to work and I relaxed, packed and headed to the airport. Once again a fantastic catch up with some very good life long friends!

April: Brisbane and Hervey Bay

Easter Break: Time to fly to Brisbane and then drive up to Hervey Bay

So before I knew it the holidays had come around. Good Friday I flew out to Brisbane and picked up the hire car and drove to see Whitney and Jordan...first time I had seen them since not being able to attend their wedding due to work etc last October. It was a very relaxed night with much to catch up on.

The following morning I drove upto Hervey Bay to the Bay Bed & Breakfast to visit with my old mates from Jabiru days - Cheryll & Michel LeCointre. Helen Waterson [another long time friend from Jabiru] drove down from Tanum Sands for the Easter weekend as well.

We went for a scenic drive on Easter Sunday - gorgeous places all around this area.

We of course found time for a few beverages and the new Moet Imperial Ice was divine...Helen assured us we needed all the extra bits in the drink to make it unforgettable!

Monday afternoon I headed back South and after a long wait by the side of the road [due to a mechanical problem with the hire car] eventually arrived to spend the night with Sophie Perry and her fiancee Mark. I had not seen Sophie for a while so again lots to catch up on.
A fun night was had.

Unfortunately the next morning I had to head off early for my flight back to Darwin.
Another holiday done and dusted...but so good to catch up with so many people in just the few days I had!

Now - time for thew annual Department of Education Leaders Conference for the next 2 days!

My Birthday 2015: Bali here we come

The night of my birthday Sam Hohn and I flew out to Bali for a quick break!
Our friend Mary Lynch was due to come - her frst ever overseas trip but she was unwell and not able to fly!

Awesome time - relaxing in our Amazing Villa at Seminyak with massages, hair braiding and lots to eat and drink!

We went to Ultimo on the Saturday night - the well known Italian restaurant I had been to the year previously for Tina Sullivan's birthday. We also ventured to some local shopping areas and beachside hawkers.....needed to take time out and relax!

We hired our driver 'GDay'to take us out for the day on Sunday and enjoyed our time at a coastal area, especially the cliff side pool and bar!

Slight hiccup getting home...had to end up flying to Brisbane and then home to Darwin the following morning......lessons to be learnt!