Unusual birthday flowers

Almost 2 years ago Juleen's grandparents planted a tree in the garden in Holsbeek - a special gift to celebrate her birth. Now end of January, a week before Juleen's birthday, and nature seems to be all but confused, looking at the beautiful flowers on her tree. Thanks for the picture pappie.

Busy Hong Kong

Last Monday I left to Hong Kong for a week, I had a global meeting on one of my most exciting projects. The first morning in the hotel when I woke up, I was very surprised to see the parc full of people in gym gear but not moving at all, just a very different way to get energised and kick start your day - in Sydney everybody is kick-boxing, jogging or doing bootcamps in the morning. Unfortunately I haven't been able to see much more of the city than the trips from the hotel to work, but HK has a great feel to it, full of energy and it lives at a high pace. I couldn't believe my eyes when I left the office at 10pm one night, the streets were overbusy (see pics), much more so than any time during the day. HK's heart beats at night and all people are out in the streets. The city is full of expats and they are very welcoming, they all have domestic helps that mostly live in (cleaning, cooking, nannying) and tax rates are only 13% - sounds attractive to me. On the downside, all people live in flats (houses with gardens are for presidents only) and the pollution is shocking. 360 days per year, they can't see the other end of the river (I was apparantly very lucky to experience 1 clear day, see pic2 vs pic3).

With love from Melbourne...

We had a great weekend in Melbourne with just the 2 of us. We enjoyed some shopping on Saturday and the 2 Australian Open games at night (both Aussi Alicia Mollik and Lleyton Hewitt lost their game). On Sunday, after a great brunch where we bumped into some other Belgians, we went to a lovely art&craft market at St-Kilda and bought a digdgeridoo (Frederik started practising in the hotel which wasn't the best idea...) from a genuine aboriginal man (who was very sure I'm having another girl). After a great museum visit we went for a romantic dinner in the European, it is amazing how much more you feel like being home in Melbourne as a city nad enjoyed some more tennis on Federation Square on our way back to the hotel. On Monday we enjoyed our last sleep-in (oh what a feeling!!) and went back to the courts to enjoy the very exciting games of Kim Clijsters/Hantucheva (yes, she won!!) and Blake/Gonzalez. So happy to see Juleen when we arrived back, apparently she didn't even have the time to miss us, she too had a very exciting weekend with Sandra's family.

Papa & Juleen week

Anouk was in Hong Kong this week, cooking up some new beverages. The perfect excuse for papa to declare himself "on duty" and leave the office every day at 5.30pm ... felt surreal. Lots of quality time for papa and Juleen and we managed to get through the week very easily!

Juleen will stay with Sandra & Danny this weekend, where she can play all day long with all their children. They also have a pool at home, which is great given the temperature peaks we are currently experiencing.

We will be off to Melbourne for a long weekend. A couple of sessions at the Australian Open, some sightseeing and shopping ... a romantic getaway!

Visiting Freya at Palmie

We spent two lovely days at Palm Beach over the Christmas break - 50 min North of Sydney. Palmie and its immediate neighbours Whale Beach and Avalon Beach are stunning beaches - with their rocky coast lines, great waves and narrow beach strips. Also known for its unaffordable beach houses and its very residential character, it is not the place where tourists spend their holidays. Luckily enough, we were invited by Henry & Fi to stay at their parents house. Fi saved us in Sep-Dec '05 when she looked after Juleen. Now she is a mum herself and we had a great time catching up while Juleen and Freya could play.


Juleen, Anouk and Freya - practising for bubbie II


Juleen with Hilda

Impressions (22)

The 2 blondes of Reynolds Street

Water wars in Australia ?

Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts for many many years, with water levels at the dams around the major cities at all time lows (20-30% of full capacity for some). The government has stepped up the restrictions on water usage once again - for example in Melbourne there is no more washing of cars allowed, you can only water your lawn and plants by hand for one hour in total (independent from the size of the garden) for 3 days per week and they have 140 water police officer to enforce the restrictions.

The article below suggests that we will start to see battles between neighbours because of the new reality people live in ... makes the battles on Wisteria Lane look very kind-hearted.


Is suburbia the first battlefront in the water wars?

Thomas Hunter writes:

Suspicion, envy, lawbreaking, informers, special police. No, not the plot to an overwrought US crime show, but the burgeoning tensions in suburban Australia over our neighbours’ surprisingly healthy gardens.

Some examples. Over Christmas, I waved to a kindly old Lebanese neighbour who was watering her garden. Before saying hello she pointed guiltily to her hose and said, “It’s from the washing machine.”

One Crikey reader told us they had a pool installed a few months ago (a plan that's been on the drawing board for over a year) that remains empty. They recently had a fence erected around their shameful pond in an attempt to quell the lectures from neighbours about the indulgence of filling a pool in the middle of stage three restrictions.

Then last night, dropping a letter into my landlord’s letterbox, I was greeted with two A4-sized photographs, thumbtacked to the fence, of his twin 4000 litre water tanks. “Water for this garden is taken from tanks installed EXPRESSLY for this purpose.”

Given how healthy his garden looks, I suspect the signs were an explanation to neighbours. Or a reaction to accusations of water misuse. Or had he been stung by the Water Police?

Currently in Melbourne, there are 140 Water Patrol Officers (basically the meter readers and burst and leak guys with an expanded job description) enforcing Melbourne’s stage three restrictions. They have the power to warn people, cut off their water supply, and issues fines ($429). They also act on tips from people about their water-wasting neighbours. Sydney has had water rangers for over three years, but have only managed to capture one in 12 wrongdoers in that time, a lack of success the Brisbane City Council water chairman John Campbell can empathise with.

So far, we haven’t seen anything that approaches a breakdown of law and order over water, but there’s a mild form of water militancy creeping into our urban neighbourhoods. Given the generally serious way people are approaching it, it’s not impossible to imagine people falling out (or worse) over water use.

Have the water restrictions lead to any tension in your street? Have any of your neighbours felt compelled to explain publicly the health of their garden? Have you been pinged by the water police? Let Crikey know at boss@crikey.com.au

Wanted * Teddy * Gezocht * Teddy

Beste familie en vrienden,

Binnenkort een nieuwe mijlpaal voor Juleen : ze zal vanaf 1 februari twee dagen per week naar de creche gaan. De grootste uitdaging voor de kinderoppas wordt wellicht het middagdutje ... Het is nog steeds een grote strijd om Juleen in bed te krijgen (zelfs thuis) ... maar gelukkig is er haar lieve vriend "teddy" die haar kan sussen - letterlijk door erop te sabbelen.

We zijn nu hardnekkig op zoek naar een tweede teddy Mustela, die we in de creche kunnen laten. We hebben al alternatieve teddy's geprobeerd (bedankt nonna!), ebay en amazon afgezocht, tevergeefs! Mochten jullie toevallig ook zo'n teddy (over) hebben of iemand kennen die eenzelfde Mustela geboortepakket in het ziekenhuis (feb2005) heeft gekregen (zie foto koffertje), dan zouden we heel graag een teddy transfer opzetten. Van al haar teddy's is haar favoriete spijtig genoeg een die je niet kan kopen, aaarrghh!

Help!

Desperate Parents

Impressions (21)

Thank you Santa !

Australian Tourist Questions

We copied these"Australian Tourist Questions" from the website of Peter, Anja & Lise. Our Belgian friends are leaving Sydney for Dusseldorf (!) and they will be missed in Sydney!

The next questions about Australia are from potential visitors. They were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses posted by the website officials, who obviously have a sense of humour.

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? (UK).

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)

A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)

A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Australia? (Sweden)

A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.

Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Harvey Bay? (UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? (USA)

A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not... oh forget it. Sure, hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)

A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia? ( UK)

A: You're a British politician, right?

Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)

A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)

A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q: Do you have perfume in Australia? (France)

A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia? (USA)

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)

A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)

A: Only at Christmas.

Q: I was in Australia in 1969 on R+R, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Kings Cross. Can you help? (USA)

A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)

A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.