Karen S-D

Well, only 5 days to go now until we fly to Adelaide one-way! Excited but a little nervous at the same time as a lot to sort out when we get there. Just thought I would post some pics of what you can get into a large movecube. (The pics have appeared in the wrong order but you get the idea!).

Congrats Suzy and good to hear about your new arrival! Only saw this after I replied to your PM x

Just thought I would post an update on this as I now have an answer as to what I will need to do so that my daughter satisfies the immunisation criteria and we will still be eligible for childcare rebate. I have a niece who is three days younger than my daughter and my sister-in-law asked both the nurse doing my niece's MMR booster and the GP and here is what they have said. They advised that I get my daughter the MMR booster, she has previously had single vaccines for Measles and Rubella, this will mean she is fully immunised for these and she will have one dose of the Mumps vaccine which is deemed satisfactory. She will also need the Hep B course of jabs which is on the list for Australia. My daughter had chicken pox only a few months ago and still has visible marks, if needed I will get the blood test to show that she has had them and this will mean that she won't need to have the Varicella vaccine. I'm happy for her to have the MMR booster now that she is older, relieved that they would not insist on two doses of MMR because of the Mumps issue. Just thought this may be useful info for anyone finding themselves in the same situation.

I have the little red book as well as a printout from the doctors with the stamp from the surgery which I got last week as I forgot the red book on one occasion. My 3 and a half year old is due her Measles and Rubella boosters now and have booked her into an immunisation clinic next month, I have invoices from the immunisation clinic for her first Measles and Rubella from a couple of years ago. As we opted for separate vaccines rather than the MMR and mumps is no longer available in a single vaccine she is not immunised against mumps. I am guessing that unless Australia have somewhere I can go and pay for the single mumps vaccine that I will have to fill out one of those conscientious objection forms for that. She had chicken pox a couple of months ago and so sounds like just need the Hep B and then should be up to date. does anyone know can I get a single mumps vaccine over there?

Well, just back from our trip to Adelaide in order tovalidate mine and daughter’s permanent visas, visit husband’s family and do ourreccie. Here are my observations: In short, we had an amazing time, fell in love with theplace all over again and didn’t want to return home. Got out and about andvisited lots of places whilst there, looked at suburbs etc. Leisure wise I thought thatcycling part of the Riesling trail in the Clare Valley was amazing and a greatactivity for all the family. Belair National Park was another highlight. Wealso enjoyed The Big Rocking Horse at Gumeracha which incorporates apetting/feeding farm and is great value for money. Did quite a bit of food shopping whilst there and I do thinkthat although some goods are about the same as the UK in price, that in themain, things are slightly more expensive. I know that this may be offset byslightly higher wages, but I think until you can compare the exact same wage inthe UK and South Australia and the percentage of the wage that the item representsit is hard to compare scientifically. However, I do think that the answer may lie in gaining experienceof where to buy things and adjusting your shop to buy fruit and veg which is inseason. For example, I had to buy anumber of greetings cards whilst I was there, I bought them from thesupermarket and thought they were relatively expensive. Shortly after I spottedsome nice greeting cards for a fraction of the price at another shop. I alsopaid $11 for a bag of grapes because I didn’t check the price and realisedlater they were imported from the US and must be out of season currently inAustralia. The only other slight moan I have is re driving. I just don’tthink that drivers in South Australia are as courteous as drivers in the UKwhich I can’t believe is the case! Letting another car out or moving over whilst another car joins thecarriageway or raising a hand in thanks when someone does that for you seem tobe alien concepts. The amount of middle-lane hoggers is unbelievable as well. Suburb wise, we are looking to locate to the north ofAdelaide to be relatively close to my husband’s family. Although it was not on my list of favouritesbefore we did the reccie, we really like Redwood Park and will be looking tobuy there and so would be interested to hear any views about the locality fromanyone with experience of that area and its’ kindergartens and schools. So, we are planning to leave here in September 2016 and moveover. Lots to do between now and then, going into it with eyes wide open, but really feel that it is the right decision for us and we're feeling good about it.

I live in Wigan, and trust me, that's not a foregone conclusion! Some of the outfits you see girls out in has me checking that I've not been unknowingly transported to a Greek Island in peak season! I was having a chuckle when Nobby said about everyone walking round as if its 30c, it's true, and even I'm guilty of getting out the flip-flops (or should I say thongs?) the minute the mercury touches anything above 18c...

From a UK Aldi perspective, when I first shopped at Aldi around 5 years ago I wasn't impressed, but over the last couple of years their products have improved SO much. There are some brands that I go elsewhere and buy but for the main part I think they are brilliant quality and price for meat, poultry, cooked meats, selection and quality of cheeses, cooked meats, tinned tomatoes and their fruit and veg is great value. I am a convert and am so excited that there will be Aldi stores in Adelaide!

You live by the sword, you die by the sword. Those are the consequences for your actions if you get caught and they must be aware of that when they go into that line of work. Their own greed leads them down that path.

What a fantastic idea, and what a lovely quote.

Yes, I've heard a few people say what a good book 'Jasper Jones' is, I'll be adding it to my list of next reads!

I think I heard that Alice was also in the mix for a girl. They tend to stick to very traditional names don't they? I can't imagine that we'll get a Brittany-Mae or Chardonnay-Rose anytime soon!

Thanks Doug! Looks great, it's on the list!

I'm currently under the weather recovering from a virus so I've just been taking it easy reading my kindle the last couple of days. I stumbled across a website (link below) about Australia's favourite homegrown reads and downloaded a few of the books mentioned. I finished reading 'Made In Australia' by Chris Kennedy yesterday which I enjoyed and made me laugh and cry, and I'm currently a quarter of the way through 'Cloudstreet' by Tim Weston. Immersing myself in the imagery conjured up by the authors descriptions of the landscapes is making me long to be back in Australia! My next reads are 'The Harp in the South' by Ruth Park and 'We of the Never Never' by Aeneas Gunn. Just thought I would share the link for any other bookworms and prompt a debate about any other recommended books? http://www.betterreading.com.au/book_list/australias-top-100-favourite-homegrown-reads/

Unfortunately I am still in England, otherwise I would have been there with bells on! I love the Barossa. Cannot wait to get back over there.

Thank you guys, this has given me plenty to look into, much appreciated! x