THE FRANGIPANI FACTOR

To my mind the heaven-scent frangipani is the unrivalled champion of the typically tropical flower. Its clean, simple structure and subdued colour palette outcompete even the most showy of tropical blooms while its fresh and delicate fragrance is reminscent of a soapy lemon perfume. Clearly a firm favourite with Darwin's local council also, almost every suburban street is festooned with blossoming frangipani trees running alongside the footpath.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Ah blogs, I've known a few..but then again....
To start somewhere around the middle and work outwards from there; after a long stint over on the opposite hemisphere, I'm back in Australia with a head full of ideas, a series of abandoned blogs (parts of which I will eventually integrate with this blog), a suitcase full of inappropriately warm clothing, my long suffering dog (who I keep dragging around with me to new countries) and a new eye for my old hometown’s charms. So here I am again, back sitting out on the sandstone rocks staring out over Australia's northern Timor sea...for now.

Picking up from where I left things, I'll be shifting the focus of my posts to be mostly about local highlights, travel, green living, nature, food and conservation. I'm hoping it'll be a mix of the old and the new - all the things I know and love about this part of the world, as well as an exploration of the things I haven't got around to yet.

D-DAY (PART 2)

So here it is. I've made it back to Australia. After my final two weeks in a little hire car, gradually shedding the last of my possessions at friends' places, saying a lot of goodbyes, and even taking my dog on a tube ride through the heart of London, I finally rocked up to Heathrow airport with 2 suitcases and a crated spaniel. I'll be spending most of the first month squatting in Melbourne and having my heart broken twice a week by visits to the quarantine centre. However, the hound has done remarkably well and is coping admirably (unlike yours truly). I really like Melbourne, though my old home town of Darwin is going to be my base for the next little while, I'm thinking it's likely I'll move down south within a year or two. Melbourne is high on the list of potential destinations...

D-DAY (PART ONE)

The day has come. Not only is this my first proper blog post in years but, after 8 years away from Australia, I'm returning home. I made the decision in December last year, as work had been stagnating for a good 18 months and I felt I had reached the top of a very short career ladder. I spent a lot of the latter half of last year applying for other jobs without much success. With rapidly rising fuel costs, life has steadily become more expensive in the UK over the last couple of years - and my salary hasn't budged in 3 years now -  and while once I had a little spare change at the end of every month to stash away in nest egg fashion, it is reaching the point where I'm having to budget for basic car journeys.

BEAUDELAIRE BY THE BEACH

I think I would be happy in that place I happen not to be, and the question of moving house is a subject of perpetual dialogue I have with my soul ~Baudelaire.
 
Which is another way of saying I've decided, for a multitude of reasons, that it's time for me to move on - back to Australia. I've given myself a generous block of time to get ready, and will be heading off for the antipodes by Spring.

CHEMIN

I popped over for a short trip to Paris recently to catch up with my mother (who regularly visits France to see her family). As opportunities to catch up with either of my parents are rare these days, I booked us a lovely room in my favourite part of Paris; Rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter.