One More Angel in Heaven

Don’t really know how to begin this blog to be honest. Not sure if I should even be writing this, but I don’t care.  At the start of my travels I did place a warning saying that I would always write what my thoughts were at that particular moment. This blog is a change from the others. This one is for my beautiful aunt Anne who lost her very brave fight to cancer and who always followed me on my travels by reading my blogs, sending me emails commenting on my journey around the world and sending me text messages and even Skyping! So Anne, this one is for you. I can’t believe you’re gone, but I’ll blog to you, I suppose publicly, as it’s my way of saying good-bye, being miles away from home.  Others will get to swap stories with each other about you over the next few days, so here’s a bit of mine.

Over the last few years since your illness, it was a pleasure to be able to become closer to you.  Every week on days after work, I always looked forward to getting up to your house, to have long chats and clean that already clean house you had! Driving up that long lane of yours, hoping my wee car never got stuck in the ditch, going into your house to be greeted by the smell of a lovely wood-burn fire. The house was always boiling with your temperature thermometer reaching highs of over 26 degrees and that was sometimes in the middle of summer!!  People would be peeling off the layers of clothing, but you were so snug with the heat and would even add more layers onto yourself.

Of course, doctor’s orders were telling you that you had to rest, not to be over-exerting yourself, taking it easy…but did you listen? Of course not!  A few times I’d drive up to find you out on that half a mile lane of  yours picking up thorns and branches that had dropped from the bushes in the middle of a cold autumnal day, just in case “it would puncture people’s tyres as they drove up the lane.” Other times, I’d be inspecting the carpet closely to see what exactly I was to hoover up, only to find that you’d already done it, but you’d never listen and hated sitting around even when you were in pain.  

Loved our wee chats together – loved hearing the stories of yesteryear, when you were younger with my mum, whereby I was able to go home and quiz her on a few random things. And I thought my mum was an innocent child!! You never forgot anyone’s birthday either, whether they were babies or grown-ups. Cards to most nephews and nieces stop when they are 18 – not you, you kept going and every year there was always a wee card in the post. Even 2 weeks ago for my birthday, up in Marie Curie, you gave my mum some money to put into my bank to buy something. Well, I’ve decided I know what to buy with it.  You always travelled the length and breadth of Northern Ireland with Norman or others to wee coffee shops – you just loved a coffee with a wee bit of pastry or cake on the side. Every time I’d see you, you would inform me of the new place you’d been to and how you rated the coffee. To be honest, I don’t think there was a coffee shop left in the north that you hadn’t been to – you were ready to branch out into the European sector! So I’ll be finding a decent coffee shop somewhere here in Sydney, and raise a cup and a wee bun to you.  Mum told me today that you have something for me to do when I return home and will only find out then…I look forward to it, whatever it may be.

 ‘School’s out for summer’ will always remind me of you as we both took to the dance-floor on your Wedding Day last year and boogied away to it. You never sat down that day either – up bopping around ‘til the late evening.  You were always a trooper and a brave one at that. You never gave up, you suffered in silence and fought the good fight until the end – no more suffering now. To those closest to Anne, I send my sympathies – you all know who you are – you are in my thoughts.

Maybe one day, we will see each other again.  It hasn’t registered properly yet that you’re gone.  Rest in peace and miss you loads – a wonderful aunt and a good friend.  Thanks for the memories xxx

Anne and me xx



Singing 'School's out for Summer'

Cafe latte



Found a French coffee shop in Sydney - ate a yummy apple turnover!

Who is the Patron Saint of sheds anyway?!

Down at our first HelpX again in Sydney and all I will write on this blog in capital letters is 'SHED'. Yes, our humble abode is that friggin shed again. Those of you who aren't familiar with it - go and have a look at one of my previous blogs/photos. Oh how we have fallen from grace-back down the ladder from the very top rung to the bottom! This time it's for FOUR WEEKS. Suppose it'll get me ready for the squalor that awaits me in Thailand.


Oh and please those of you that speak to me on Skype/Facebook-don't be mentioning it publicly on my wall as Jimbo will see it and could boot us out!!


This is hilarious-maybe I'll just rearrange my flights into Thailand for tomorrow. I'm so over this shed business. "Dear Holy, Patron Saint of wooden sheds, take me away from here now"...ok I've closed my eyes and tapped my red, ruby shoes like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz)...and it doesn't seem to have worked- the shed is still here and I'm still sitting on the lovely 'Welcome' step outside the door :)

The 'Welcome' sign outside the shed door

Chicken poo (looks like it had the dose of the runs judging by the above) which I'm always walking in - it's everywhere

Pathway to my humble abode - the shed is in the background (it's been painted since last time - yippeee!)

Slumdog millionaire



Brisbane Quayside



Botanic Gardens, Brisbane

Brisbane Quayside

Had a great time living the millionaires lifestyle but decided to travel onwards and upwards after about 10 days or so. Was great watching movies in an in-house cinema, going to my own private gym in the house and ducking and diving in and out of the pool after I'd finished my work.  But one thing I can say for definite, is that money doesn't buy happiness.  The host was lovely and had a fantastic time, but was unhappy with the goings on in her life, despite the wealth and fancy lifestyle around her.  I know some of you have told me you don't believe me that I was staying there even after the link I sent, but I will post up some pics when I get near a decent computer.

Sometimes it's hard to leave these people and places, as you tend to fill a bit of a void in their lives. Yes, you work for them but you also befriend them and on most occasions you end up giving them an extra ear to listen to with their problems, or a fun night out which they may not have had in ages, or just solely for the company of someone else to talk to. Some of the stories that you end up hearing...my God, I could write a book! On all of our HelpX, everyone has wanted us to stay longer as they grow a bond with you and they enjoy the company of having others around.

So off it was up to Brisbane for 3 days to meet friends. What a great wee city. Not as busy as Sydney - much slower pace of life without the rat-race.  I managed to meet up with cousins I never knew I had. A few months back my cousins came over to Ireland searching their family tree and called upon my parents house and they found out I was travelling up the east coast of Oz so we swapped emails and I finally got to meet them and try and fill in some holes in the family tree.
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Mind you, I was pretty awful at it - I think Brian was wondering if I knew who anyone was in my family.  He would say..."So, what do you call the names of the children of your father's brothers and sisters?'... and I was like..'Emmm...not really sure, that person lives in Africa and has 2 or 3 kids, but I don't know their names'??? I mean, I think I met my uncle from Africa once when I was about 5, so that doesn't really count in my book - I completely baffled the poor man. I'm sure he wished I never got in contact. It was worse when he asked me the dates of birth and exact year of my brothers and sisters...I was sweating at this stage - think I gave him the wrong year for that too!! Talk about feeling like a complete tit at times, but I did enjoy listening to them, eating nice cake and getting to see another side of Brisbane for free.

So where am I now? Sydney, that's where. Plans to travel by bus/train further on up the coast were shelved as it's knackering doing the HelpX all the time and people want you to stay for up to 7 days at least, so I'd still be making my way up there in the year 2025.  Decided to fly back down again and join in the celebrations for Australia Day here in Sydney but if I get a chance will fly up to Cairns for a few days before I leave. Have paid work here also which starts on Monday, which is great, as Oz burns a huge hole in your pocket. If it hadn't been for HelpX I'd have had to leave here weeks ago. Have managed to make arrangements with the lovely Strongy and Stace  (who I met in S.America) to go to Uluru in mid-late February.

Have also booked my flights out of Sydney and into Bangkok, Thailand for 4th March. Even if I wanted to stay more in Oz, I couldn't as my 3 months visa is up and they'll be kicking me out of the country. Me, being me, booked the flights, had a look at the time I arrive in Bangkok and felt like slapping myself in the head. Arrive at midnight, so rather than try and find somewhere to stay (as I'll be by myself again on the road) I'll be slumming it up with the have-nots in the local airport - as long as it isn't like my airport sleep or lack of it in Santiago, then I shall be grand.

My plans?? Hope to spend about 3 days in the city of Bangkok - so far everyone is telling me it's a hole, so will then maybe try and find my way to Phuket. No idea how I'll get there, but will cross that bridge closer to the time. What will I be doing in Phuket?? Well, if I told you all you'd be thinking that it wouldn't be your idea of travel...more like torture, but is just right up my street, for those who know what I'm like. So you'll just have to wait and see!

Surfers Paradise, Queensland

The pool in the millionaires house I stayed in

Kitchen area

Jetty at the bottom of their garden

Boat



My new relatives I found from Brisbane - Judy, Brian and Joe Blaney with me!



Brisbane City from Mount Coogtha lookout

I took myself on a mangrove walk around the city - stunning!

The luck of the Irish has arrived

Jaysus, will some of ye quit pressuring me to update my blog. Those ones without Facebook, who only use emails - you know who you are ;) I mean, I'm so busy working and living the life of Riley right now, I have no time for plebians.

Ok, so no doubt some of you know that I'm now in a millionaires house. Everytime I say this, I feel like jumping up and down and screeching at the top of my voice, but, I'm actually in a plush house (dawhling).  Others are probably goin..yeah, yeah Mary, full of shite as per usual.  Well, I shit you not - I will send you a youtube link that the owner sent me.

Of course, when I received it both myself and Auds near fell off the chair in excitement. Gone where the sheds of before, down with that sort of thing (from Father Ted, for those of you that are clueless), this time I bagged the millionaire. Well, not quite bagged it, but hit lucky with the HelpX once again and the god of millionaires shone down on us, because to be quite honest, I think it was time to meet/stay with one as we've met so many before!

But before I piss you all off, as I always do, I'll quickly fill you in on where I have been up to now. Obviously on my last 'Junior' blog (God I miss him already...no longer attached/dangling on my big, pink bag - there's a tag there left with nothingness - a void!! ha,ha) I told you I was in Crescent Head on a surfaris camp and gave you a link. Had a great 2 weeks there and did the usual things from cleaning dorms, preparation of food, sucking of spiders with hoovers, getting bitten loads by mozzies and had two friends in my mattress called Tim and Tom, the two fleas who loved to have a wee bite now and again, before I killed the wee b*stards with lots of fumigation. Effin dogs and cats/sandfleas or whatever - biting insects everywhere.

And the Aussies put up with this on a daily basis -you'd be chattin to em and then they'd say, "Have been bitten loads by fleas in my bedroom" as if it was nothing to them. Horrified I was, until the same happened to me and then you just have to get used to it. Poor Auds, if she keeps getting bitten anymore, will just turn into a large, pus filled cyst and end up hospitalised if she's not careful.  The local pharmacy in Crescent Head probably ran out of insect repellent as she's been practically living in a film of DEET for the last while, which unfortunately for her is not quite working. Night-time sees her dressed as an eskimo,with the sweat lashing off her - fear of being bitten once again and covered up just to make sure. Mornings in Crescent Head, were greeted with the workers asking each other how many bites they got the previous night/showing tiny red marks to larger ones all over the body. 4am was my wake-up, sorry scratch-up call. The bites drove me mad with itch at the same time, leaving me scratching and sleep deprived.

I had a great time. Before work I'd maybe go for a cycle down to the beach, then run barefoot in the sand, with the wind whistling in my ears and the water lapping up my legs - you can't feel the heat as much as there's a beautiful sea breeze preventing you from overheating and exploding with the humidity.  Met some lovely workers there, played the guitar at night times - teaching each other various chords, spent nigths with a few cold beers sitting in the sun in our wee workers house. Got to go surfing a few times when there were groups at the lodge.  It was a pretty chilled place alright. Gave us both a come-down from the madness of Sydney for a wee while.NYE was different - a band out on the lawn with everyone around. I got stuck with a guy who reared chooks (chickens)and he bored the hell out of me. I was informed of the diseases they can catch up to how to aerate the soil - thank God we went to the beach to see in 2012, otherwise a murder may have occurred on the grounds.

But after 2 weeks, my feet started to get itchy so it was time for a wee change. People called that place the 'black hole' as backpackers/workers always stayed for weeks/months on end and always went back. I won't be falling down the black hole - had fun but it was time to uproot for another adventure.

So out came the HelpX and typed in 'Surfers Paradise' and got a response from a lovely lady who was looking for people to help out around her house/garden and help with her 2 year old son, as she has very severe back pain. Emails passed to and fro deciding on the dates to arrive and then when that happened, the last email had a link of their house ($2.2 million) and what we'd be living in. Before I send you the youtube video so you can see for yourself I'll just add a couple of wee things. The couple are just lovely and originally from the UK and own their own business in the beauty industry, their wee son is just adorable and the area they live in is beautiful. Pool outside, sauna inside, their own jetty with a 30ft boat, which we'll be cruising on Sunday, have our private en-suite bedroom...the lot!!  So life has been hard the last few days - (not) - what a way to spend my birthday. In Queensland now and the weather resembles that of a fan-assisted oven and my feet sometimes feel as though they have elephantitis, as they keep swelling as it's so warm and humid.

Alright plebians, I must go now - heading off in the Jaguar later into a nice area of town for a few post-birthday drinks.  Within 6 hours of meeting us and chatting away, they've loved the craic. This HelpX is some life - you could never do this just backpacking - so much variation to everything.  Ok, tally-ho peeps, must go now, things to do!

Here is the youtube link I was sent for all you Doubting Thomas' out there. They were trying to sell their house and sortof made up their own video. The house is still up for sale, but this where you'll find our abode for the next week or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UmATKo9Cjg