Christine, who normally lives in Hong Kong, has been working in Sydney, and she came up to see us for the weekend. We went to Maiala, near Mt Glorious. It was raining, so as expected, we got attacked by leeches.
We went away for Easter, as per usual. This year we rented a house at Marcoola, on the Sunshine Coast. It was, in fact, at the end of the runway for Sunshine Coast Airport, but there were very few flights, and only small planes too, so that wasn't a problem. We celebrated our wedding anniversary on the beach in style, with a cup of tea
Deirdre threw a cocktail party for her birthday. Not everyone drank cocktails - there was the obligatory barrel of home-brew, plus heaps of champagne.
We held a small Beer Festival in honour of Christine's visit to Brisbane. We all brought along a mix of beers, and the result was a wide range of styles, quality and alcohol content. Everyone seemed to have a great time, especially judging by the tasting notes we wrote at the time.
We moved house. One of the features of the new place is a small workshop, where as you can see Steve has got his priorities right with regard to its contents.
Deirdre, Steve and Olivia went to the UK for the first time in four years. The Harvey's still tastes excellent. Here is Steve in the Lewes Arms with the first of several.
Of course, other beers are available. Here we are in The Bell at Middleton, Suffolk, enjoying some Adnam's
The Fifth was, as usual, a fabulous spectacle. Cliffe Bonfire Society's tableau was Angela Merkel destroying the Greek Parthenon whilst giving what looked like a cross between an Usain Bolt victory gesture and a Hitler salute. Here we see Olivia with her cousin Dottie, who is dressed in Greek riot police gear.
Of course it wasn't all beer and bonfire. We also went to Brighton. Here are Deirdre and Steve on the beach and taking advantage of the free deck chairs on the pier. Note the appropriate clothing.
Barcombe also held their bonfire night while we were in England. Olivia was extremely pleased to be given the chance to carry a flare through the High Street.
We also managed to squeeze in a trip to London to do some sight-seeing. In Hamley's, the toy shop, we saw these lego models of the royal family. Then on the way home we had a much needed feed and a drop of beer (or wine) to rinse it down.
Back home in The Gap, and it was Olivia's "graduation" from primary school. (Yes, really.)