old news	april 2004 news update 25 april 2004 april started off with a really excellent friday evening catching up with tim & jo hutchinson from the uk. they got married at the end of march and were spending their 3 week honeymoon in oz. we had a fantastic evening catching up with them: good wine, good food, good conversation; and it didn't even feel that strange sat in fed square with people that we last saw in sheffield - it just felt normal! managed to squeeze in some culture with a visit to the ngv: ian potter museum and the clifford possum exhibition of aboriginal art. really quite mad - just different from how you view european art and all made from dots. we then experienced another melbourne tradition with sunday afternoon drinks watching the sunset at the espy in st kilda. very pleasant - and naturally we managed to make it through until the evening (although not good for getting up for work on a monday morning!). however that weekend became even more special when we managed to get our photos taken with the melbourne participants of 'my restaurant rules'. it's a reality tv show where 5 couples from the 5 major cities have competed to open and run a restaurant from scratch with no experience. (given our thoughts on life options when we return to the uk, it's been quite pertinent.) not wanting to queue for 3/4 hours for food, we didn't eat there but I did manage to blag my way in for a quick chat and a photo!! well it kept us happy for the next week - and no, I didn't make it on to tv! naturally, being a temp means you want to be able to work for as many days as possible, but this month we've had easter in the way of things. and in keeping with aussie holidays, the place once again seemed to totally shut down. you'll be pleased to know that we did manage to find somewhere open for a few too many good friday drinks (the castle had to be good for something). unfortunately, it did mean that our planned walking and exploring adventure to the dandenongs on saturday started with a fairly large hangover. rachel kindly took us out to see the dandenongs which are only an hour from central melbourne. it's really quite like the peak district but right by the city and with huge tall trees. we did manage a walk after lunch: a very steep 'moderate' walk. we chose to avoid the famous '1000 steps' where you can '...experience the physical exhaustion that the pows felt from ww2 in png'!! not really what we were looking for on a pleasant saturday afternoon. our easter weekend was rounded off with two contrasting cultural experiences: gold class cinema tickets courtsey of our temp agent, and more ngv with a surprising amount of well-known stuff: monet, picasso, cezanne, warhol, hockney et al. the guardian would be proud of us! we also had a pleasant surprise when I won a trip to kakadu national park in the northern territory (it's where they filmed 'crocodile dundee')...fantastic, we thought! free stuff - must do it. unfortunately we had to turn it down as it was only for one person, wasn't on our itinerary and would have cost us nearly another $1000 to get there in a rush..... next time we'll go, but it was nice to have won something! our final night in north melbourne was just going to be a quiet affair having spent the whole day cleaning and packing. however our friends sprung us a surprise party which was fantastic. absolutely no idea and very very touched. big thanks to rachel and the girls. can't wait to see you all back in the uk! we've also just managed to squeeze in watching an afl game at the mcg. as part of our leaving weekend with nick & andrea, we've just been to see essendon vs collingwood: a very big local game. they have played on anzac sunday for the last 10 years so lots of history. essendon won - a good thing. go the bombers! so, that's aboutt it!! no more work until sydney; no more flat; no more 'the age' on Ssturday; no trams until we get back to nottingham. we've thoroughly enjoyed melbourne, but at the same time are really looking forward to seeing the rest of australia. we're currently sat killing time before catching the overnight coach to adelaide, before leaving on a tour through the outback, ending up at alice springs. so now the adventure really begins!