Home Sweet Home

Just for the record, Luca was over the moon to see us...I think she was in shock when we walked through the front door. It's spring time in Melbourne...so everything is lush and green. The weather is pretty warm after a very cool & wet stay in Ottawa. But I wouldn't expect anything less from Canada's capital. We picked up right where we left off: breakfast at ICE, walking around Chapel St and Commercial Rd. Today we're off to the Jam Factory to see Dark Water. The jet lag isn't too bad but it was rough flying coach.

LA Confidential

Hi darlings,
Ms Fanny is making one last entry, as we are half way home...we arrived in LA a short time ago and already my agent is on the phone asking if I want a bit part on Desperate Housewives...? It's tempting but I can't compete with Eva?! Besides, I look dreadful. Six weeks without looking at a dumbbell or a treadmill hasn't done me any favours. Anyhoo, travelling coach to Melbourne is going to be cosy to say the least! I have a window seat. I hope we have some serious drugs to help us sleep...I don't want to wake up until I see Tasmania from my seat! I want to thank all the little darlings who made our holiday even more enjoyable. The wedding in Montreal, the trip to Paris, London and Koln was just a dream come true. Autumn in Ottawa was worth it too. Even the view from the plane as we were landing into Chicago was worth it! We are looking forward to our own bed and being back in Melbourne. I can't wait to see Luca again...no doubt she won't be happy but once she sees what I bought her from Harrods, I'm sure she'll love us like she's on catnip!! Ta ta.

The Big "O"

It's Friday 14 October. We arrived in Ottawa after a great time in Montreal: the wedding was great. It was very special. Steven, Julie and Gable were there. Gable took a short video, which I can email friends; however it doesn't show Alan crying his eyes out! I'm sure most people have veiwed the photos. We partied at the Black & Blue festival although the weather was freezing.We shared Thanksgiving dinner with our best friend Julie, who braved my family and enjoyed her first Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner. It's fun shopping this time of year in Canada. The Halloween and Christmas decorations are out in full force. I bought a few decorations for our party on 29 October. The folks are well and it's wonderful to have everyone in the same house for the first time in four years. My neices look great. Ashley wants to travel down under and work as a bartender...The weather in Ottawa is pretty dull, wet and cool. We went downtown to visit the Parliament Buildings, Peace Tower and had high tea at the Chateau Laurier Hotel. We shopped at Walmart and saw the movie "Flight Plan". We also ran into Gable in the Byward Market. I guess the countdown is on before we return home. I'm looking forward to my own bed, Luca, breakfast at ICE cafe and visiting with my friends! Alan is coping well, I think and is proving to be an excellent navigator as I'm driving around Ottawa.

OH CANADA

Ms Fanny Brite is on her way with her entourage to Montreal including her long time companion, AS. The two are getting hitched. It's the biggest wedding event since Liza and David tied the knot. Fanny's adorable maid of honour, Madge Brown unfortunately can't make the wedding but will be there in spirit...it's the final boarding call, flight BA, so I best be off my darlings!

A Foggy Day

Yesterday we went to the British Museum. We viewed mostly the Egypt floors, which were amazing. I had the song, "A Foggy Day" running through my head as we walked the great halls for some reason? After the museum we visited Ian in his neighbourhood, Islington (Alun was working). We walked around and found Season Six of Will & Grace (Yahoo) at HMV. We met Ian at The Green for drinks before having dinner at Browns. I had another nosebleed but we won't go into the gory details. The days are getting cooler too. It was a busy weekend. (Tony & Mal who are the best, are taking very good care us). Saturday afternoon we met up with the boys: Ted, Christopher, Ian & Alun at Balans Cafe. After lunch we walked over to Rupert Street for afternoon drinks. Tony was chatting up a guy named Kevin who eventually bought them two bottles of champagne. Needless to say they were very drunk by the time they left. Alan and I left the boys and went home for a quick disco nap before heading to OXO Tower for dinner. The boys took us out to celebrate our nuptuals (Saturday 8 Oct.). It was an amazing restaurant/bar. We met a group of girls celebrating their hens night. They came over to our table a number of times. They were obsessed with the fact that most of us were wearing stripes...and even sent over a piece of cake to congratulate us on our wedding. So we sent their table champagne. Cat, the bride to be, was a sweetie. We have photos. Then the table next to us started chatting us up. Two couples who were well into their sixties; however the women dressed like they were in their twenties - they were outrageous. They wanted to have drinks after dinner but we made a quick getaway. It was 1am when we left the restaurant. Fireworks were going off along the Thames...We had a great view overlooking the Thames. It was a great place to eat. A real mix of people. Sunday we went for a drive to Oxford and had a traditional pub lunch at The Trout. It was beautiful. A little pub nestled next to a little river. The leaves were starting to change colour and the air was quite fresh. This pub is so popular. We managed to get there just after the lunch time rush. The drive back to London was long due to a traffic jam but we eventually made it home. Today we are planning a stroll through Hyde Park and some shopping at Harvey Nics/Harrods. We need to buy a new suitcase, as ours broke on our way back from Cologne. Tomorrow we fly to Montreal for six nights.

The Producers

Last night we saw the musical, The Producers in the Westend of London at the Royal Theatre in Covent Garden. It was a fun show and very camp. We sat third row from the stage, stage right in the stalls. We had a busy day. We did a tour of the Tower of London, which is a short distance from Tony & Mal's place. Our plan was to have an early dinner and drink before the show, which started at 7:30pm. By 4pm we decided to leave the grounds of the Tower, the tour had finished and we saw the Royal Jewels and walked around the White Tower. We took the tube to Embankment and went to Rupert Street for a drink. Then we walked over to Balans Cafe for dinner; however we had more than enough time to kill before the show. We had to find the theatre, which proved to be a challenge. We walked around for ages before finding it. We collected our tickets from the box office and then walked around Covent Gardens to HMV, where we bought Series 4 & 5 of Will & Grace on DVD for a bargain. In typical "Philip" style, I was suffering from a headache during the intermission of the show, so Alan bought me some aspirin from the corner store. He was a life saver as I could feel a migraine coming on. Like I said, the show was great. We then caught the tube home. It was packed with the Friday night crowd. Tony, Mal and Alan then promptly went out to Fiction. I stayed in because I'm still trying to recover from my cold.
I should also mention that I caught up with my relatives on Thursday 29 Sept. Alan and I took the train to Aylesbury, which took an hour from London. We spent the day with my Aunt & Uncle, who I haven't seen in over 15 years, before my cousin John (he's a "BOBBY") and his family arrived around 4:30pm for dinner. I'll include a photo. It was a great day. I'm glad we made the effort to catch up. It was a lot of fun. I have some old photos of Dad that Auntie Joan gave me. We caught the 8:30pm train home and that was that!