I am long overdue a visit to Oz with my last one being three years ago so I am looking forward to the next three or so weeks of what will hopefully be sun, sun, sun! I’ve got a lot to pack in with a visit firstly to Melbourne for Pauline’s wedding followed up by catching up with friends in Brisbane, catching up with friends on the Gold Coast and of course, most importantly, spending time with the family.

The excitement has been dampened a little bit by the fact that floods have hit Brisbane (and with the promise of more crazy weather all over the place.) Ironically, apart from the fact that the whole CBD and other areas in Brisbane are currently under water the weather is promising to actually be pretty good over the next few weeks. I’m having a day of rest today to recover from the looooong journey over from London. Its hard not to stay glued to the television and googling video and images from the flooding. But, in true Aussie spirit, there is a great sense of just getting on with it and helping the neighbour. For example, I already know that heaps of my friends from my ex-work place are planning to volunteer if they aren’t already out there helping out. Its moments like these that makes you feel to be proud to be a Queenslander.