RobynMargarat

How many men still have either an old Soccer shirt, that still fits like a glove, with holes at the elbow(from all that leaning on the bar, passing the time of day) or a favourite pair of socks, that still fit...?Or something left from the team they played for, rugby, a singlet or shirt that the missus keeps throwing out, but you sneak it back in, to the shed, she does`nt know its there, as the SHED is where you sneak that smoke, (cos` you still have a half-full packet, even though you are supposed to be giving up?) another meaning of shed , is getting rid of, skin, rubbish etc... Shall I go on???????

It takes a smart woman, and a moderator at that, to think up new subjects... I like where the website is heading now! When I joined this site there were heaps of questions no one was answering... I did`nt look at the sister site to this one until I Was on holidays in Brisbane.. what my job is won`t help anyone here... I just answer and ask questions, surveys etc.

the bit about your checkout chick saying people in Queensland are paying normal prices, is incorrect. I have 2 of my daughters staying here at the moment,one lives in Ellen Grove out near Wacol industrial area,The other lives an hour and half further north at Moray Fields, they tell me they are paying as much as $15.00 a kilo. Only the smaller plantains are around $12.75..(half the size and not as sweet)As I said it takes around 2-3 years for the plants to have developed enough to be able to support the large hands of bananas (what the bunches are called) When they start to form into bunches, the hands are covered with large purpose made blue enduro bags to keep the birds from attaching them. They also help make all the bananas develop at the same time by being kept in the dark and ripening gradually. But they are picked green, so that by the time they have gone south, through the markets and out to the shops they are gradually ripened that way. There is a little insect that pollenates the flour at the end of the banana that helps it ripen..

I am over 59 tomorrow! I was having a laugh at the antics of people planking, its as bad as those who took up french skippy way back last century, and kept pulling the elastic out of all their pjs to have a go.... I was hoping the teapot thing would happen..... I`m a little teapot short and stout, here is my handle, here is my spout as tomorrow is Australia`s Biggest tea party day... I thought people all over the world would be singing it, seemed appropriate.. .walking the plank isnt in my opinion... I could imagine people wanting Julia Gilly or Mr Swan dive doing it at the end of a wharf.. does anyone admit to playing french skippy with long bits of elastic. dunno who invented it but it never became an olympic sport, like sledding??? You lot all live in the Northern Suburbs, too far to go for coffee. sorry!

I like cherry ripe. MacRobertsons`s original made it. We in Australia are really spoilt, as Daryl Lea chocolates from Melbourne are about the best. Cadbury is also good. But I used to like Rountree british blend one of my great aunts used to bring back from the *old* country. Quite a few years ago, a family in Midland started selling chocolate fudge by party plan. We had giant Freckles, I mean 8 inch wide freckles. And lots of other flavours too numerous to mention. $16 half akilo, $32 a full kilo, and everyone used to get them instead of easter eggs...They also had novelties, like train shapes, childrens blocks, fairies, the signs of astrology, and shshshshs x-rated shapes too. of course in a nother life I worked years later for an Adult Toy Company, and bought some adult *sexy* shapes, used to give my hostess` about $50 worth as a gift.... I wonder where I put them, now shall have to get them out I guess. If you have a chance to visit the Chocolate Factory at Margaret River, they have some of the fudges I used to buy... Chocolate buds are available at Spotlight, the craft store. I used to purchase about $150 worth when they had their discounts near to xmas.They paid the postage , so they were at almost cost.

I have a good laugh at some of your posts, you must be using your iphones, they are so short. good on you for being able to navigate the technology at your age (63?) I learn to be a wordprocessor, as against a typist, when my Mother who was writing her family history did the same course at the age of 65... I was 47 at the time and thought if she could I could. But I was a typist/machinist for the Public Works Water Supply when I left school, and have typed my way from Narrogin, Ravensthorpe, Bencubbin, Northam to Perth.... my daughter did a computer programmers course 10 years ago, then moved to Queensland, so I had to persevere and keep up with technology... nice to know there are some smart older people around! apologies to the younger ones:jiggy:

The reason the bananas are so costly is.... we in WA have an area called Carnarvon where some of the bananas are grown. This time last year , they had a devastating cyclone that wiped out most of the plantations, and veges grown there. It takes around 2-3 years for the banana canes to regrow to be the right size to support the hands of banana`s... we were paying $12.99 and more for them and as the prices started to come down, we were also getting them from Queensland. Then in October, that state was starting to get storm, after cyclone after storm etc, so they were wiped out as well. I was watching some of the older programes on iview of landline ( a farming and lifestyle information show lunchtimes on Sundays) one of their iview exclusives, where they were showing how some of the farmers and producers were coping with having no income for a whole year...its awonder any of them had the health left to survive... if you find any banana`s cheaper than that price above, they are usually imported from Asia, which as far as I am concerned is a kick in the teeth for the industry. buy Australian. I do!

Depends on the size of the house..... some 3 bedrooms with 1 bath, are small, but you get a cottage block, as who needs a large block these days, what kids want to play in their back yard. none that I know. But saying that, some of the houses being advertised at the moment, as an example what was quoted, could be one on a over 55`s retirement site, where you only pay for the house, not the block, and they are made of colorbond, or precast concrete, so the costs are down. Most of the houses advertised by that company, are shown as the house plan called Wellard, from $205,990, or $249 p/w (per week) and they range from that to $392.990 or $471 p/w, its a no deposit house and land package. Most H&L packages these days come with, floor coverings, verticals, driveway, carport, or garage depending on the style chosen. basic drainage,downpipes and concrete spoondrains, painting of the ceilings and cornices, a choice of gas or electric cooking, bathroom fittings. We got a solar water heater, as a bonus... but look around, there are lots more of this type of affordable housing in lots of suburbs. The cost of the land has to come down, at the moment, as its in short supply, but a new parcel out the way came on the market recently because it was a *fire* sale.The millionaire who owned it needs to find money quickly to pay his government and tax bill. everyone who is looking now for housing, its much cheaper to build, as long as you are prepared to wait a little while. 8 years ago it took 18months to build houses as most of the building workers went north to make easier money in the mines. Build ahouse with all you want in it the way you want it, tell the builder yes I want that house but I want it changed to...... before you sign on the dotted line... I took a rent buster (cheap home) built by Plunkett,costing $39,500 and changed it to one bigger than their biggest and it cost less to do it...$79,870.. in 1989 as against $86,990 for their dearest. The black cost me $18,200.... on average they recommend spending double or triple the cost of the land on the house. no offence meant

Hello did anyone take any notice of the warnings I gave on here a few weeks ago? I did say there were going to be some wild windy, damaging weather!! Hope all of you did`nt find your possessions blown down the street,, early this morning.... now you know Canningvale, gets it most times when we start our dinkum winter rains and storms.... is very hot there in the summer too. But one of my sister`s lives there, she has lived in Bunbury, for over 10 years, and Geraldton for 4 years, yet she picked a suburb, that has very hot summers, and gets these storms... shakes head...... I stay near the coast, cooler in the summer, and even sunny some times in the winter...

I remember last year was it you brought this subject up! I suggest you get on to the media some how... make an appeal via todaytonight or a current affair. so other people who might be in the same predicament, get to know about it, make a BIG splash, so people get up in arms about it... a funny thought entered my head, about sending her in with the *Boat people* if you cant get anything done. Maybe don`t send her all the way back home. surely there is someone from this site/ or the other one who help her get as far as Singapore , instead of all the way home...or send her to New Zealand, another country who is wanting young *poms* to immigrate. don`t delay, time is slipping away! Ring up the media and ask for Andrew Forrest, he`s always going on about being a philanthropist, and helping people... don`t just sit there and wish and cry, get up and make a song and dance about it.....:jiggy:No offence meant!

Warnbro I have written about before, if you look at the list of subjects under my name, a lot of the questions the newer members are asking have been answered... there are some nicer areas of Warnbro, closer to Curry Street, which goes from Safety Bay Road, all the way down through the middle of that suburb and finishes at Grand Ocean Boulevarde, near Port Kennedy. The area bounded by Curry Street, to Okehampton road, and Warnbro Sound ave, has some nice newer houses in, but it is about 15 years old. There is Warnbro primary school in Kingsbridge Road I think, (Mentally thinking the map ?) But there are newer homes in a social disadvantaged area, between Swallowtail , and Curry st again, built by Homeswest...(state housing) if you are class conscious. But drive along Warnbro Beach road & Fendam streetand you will find , more expensive houses worth more than

I use HBF, as they are West Australian, they are also a health insurer and home and contents. They have a help line, when your children are young and you need to find out what they are suffering from,,, very good information, as they have health professionals working on that health line. You can also get special offers, like movie tickets and other things through their links. We also have Western Underwriters, but they are part of the universal QBE, so they are WesternQBE, the navy use that business for most of their insurance needs for their homes people who work on Garden Island (The Navy have a 100 year lease for the parking of their patrol boats, carriers and ships) I did a survey about 8 years ago, and RAC was another who had a comparitive package deal. They are online also. I found that the Pensioner insurance, cant think what its called at the moment,(APIA )for people not working, like me, the prices quoted were at least $300 more than other insurances. When I asked why, they told me, well, if they are that age, and can afford a car, they can afford to pay, and as people get older, they are more of an insurance risk, forgetful etc. Not the right attitude to have, so I encourage people not to go to them.. My Dad is with RAC as he still drives at 89. They gave him the best quote. But there are insurance companies, who when you tell them, where you are likely to be driving and how often, if you use your car for work, they will only insure it for that ... Youi I think its called... but don`t quote me... if that helps

the rain today, was just a short shower. You can complain when its been raining for hours on end, so hard that the drops on the patio are so loud you cant here yourself think, or hear the phone ring, or someone knocking on the door. When the lightning and thunder make you think you are in Iraq or a war zone..but have some thoughts for the farmers`s who have been waiting for the opening rain, so they can start sowing, barley, oats, wheat, lupins for our bread, noodles, cereals, beer, and margarine.. they will be going hell for leather, seeding most nights and days, you can see the lights in the paddocks, hear them chattering away on their CB`s, and you wont see them at the footy, til the crops are in. Some however, are still waiting for their first rains, and until it comes, they will be saving themselves,tiredness etc. Now we might have some field mushrooms, out in the paddocks, or not, if its not raining every day for a week.. you ain`t seen nothin` yet!!

People in Perth are spoilt. Winter in the country towns is, colder, away from the coast... When we lived in Narrogin, railway town down the great southern, 9 or 11 degrees celcius during the day. Ravensthorpe just the same...all day. Wind that is biting cold, but with the right sort of heating ( with us it was a wood fire), which is out of fashion these days, as too much wood, delivered, is still green, sawn down last year, not having laid in the bush for more than 4 years. Still has too much moisture in it..so causes smoke that hangs around the windows, not blown over the roof. But the cold is also different to what you are used too. WA hardly ever has snow, except on the Porongups, or Stirling ranges down near Albany, but the few times it has, yes even in Narrogin , when my oldest was 3 ( she is now 40) it was so cold, I kept inside near the fire, only going outside when the sun came out, thus missing the snow! we do have some very cold weeks during June July August, where it sometimes gets down to around 2 or 3, and even below freezing, early in the morning, just before the sun comes up, between 2am and 6am. Usually the sun is up by 7am, we also sometimes have very thick fog, where you cant see, 5 yards in front of you, and cant hear any traffic either... so don`t be complacent, if you feel the cold in Britain, you will here too, even when you have lived here all your life, like me, you don`t really get used to it!

these creatures usually swarm, march, advance, when we have had a long dry spell, they are moving to another area, to find food, or because where ever they have been, they have eaten all the green matter, that they fancy. They are not territorial, but they seem to prefer the wattle trees, which WA seems to have lost with all the new land clearing... so if you have seen, lots of bush being cleared in your area, that`s the reason... they don`t hurt, but their excretement, will make you scratch, children etc will need to be kept away from them.. as you see them marching along in the trail, try and get them to join up with the trail, and you will see them go around and around in circles! the green mess you see is whatever they have eaten. cats especially should be prevented from playing or eating them, as the cats will be ill.

Bunbury, Busselton, Augusta-Margaret River,( if you are into hospitality work) so many wineries have meals and eateries attached. Denmark, has become more popular with people into Alternative remedies, and craft work. Cranbrook, Mt Barker, Balingup, Boyup Brook, (They hold a Blues week every year) Donnelly River, has chalets and such hidden among the trees. Collie, (our major coal source which is used in the generating of electricity is mined there) not bad a town, but a bit clicky ( clicky means they don`t always accept strangers, and have their own rules of hospitality) Going out towards the east, we have Northam, York, Cunderdin ( has an agricultural school where the kids learn farming schemes) Meckering, Tammin. Kellerberrin.... all these places have pubs & taverns sometimes with vacancies. Pommy bar maids are often welcome as are the guys. Merredin is 640kls from Rockingham return . I went there last year for a weekend. Long drive though on a mostly straight road... watch out for road trains.(b-doubles , or prime movers and dogs haha) North, Yanchep, Lancelin, (nice pub) Moore River, Eneabba, Mingenew, Dongara, Geraldton.. look them up on where is.

Hi Ladies, I wont be on here much in the next 3 weeks, as my adult kids will be here with their children, but I was wondering whether any of you have given a thought to organising a Cancer Tea Morning. The Biggest Morning Tea is an Australian Icon, since one of the cricket team captains ( an AustraliaN) wives, died from it. Its organized thought the breastcancer web site. go to the biggestmorningtea.com.au and check out what I am suggesting. or don`t as the case maybe! You have to register it if you plan on holding one. Its on a day before an event I am organising so I won`t be attending, but as there seems to be a Tea house business in both Mandurah and Rockingham, I thought it a good idea that someone mention it..I know there are quite a few members of this website in the Peel district, and while other groups are organizing some events, I thought as *Poms *who are the greatest tea drinkers (past history it might be haha:biglaugh:)someone might like to do it. even if a few of you meet at either the steel tree in Baldivis,( very nice place with good atmosphere) or the merchant tea house in Rockingham or Mandurah. It loses credibility if its held at Jamaica Blue or Dome. A gold coin donation only is the norm, when holding an event such as this. Just a suggestion for getting together.

I suggest you either google Joondalup shopping centre, or look on google earth, as that a popular place they tell me. Look for grand boulevarde i think its called. or you can lookat streets of perth dot come dot au, (have to write it like that or it comes up as something different sorry).and in the suburbs section down the left hand side, click on that, and when the window opens, right down the bottom, type Joondalup and or Ellenbrook, a satelite town, which is pretty popular which is about 20 minutes from there. up will pop so much about the area, it will blow you away, But there is also Butler, Brighton, Capricorn, out towards 2rox and yanchep . Wannaroo is also a popular city. yes they are all cities in this metropolitan area, have to have over 50,000 people to be called a city. my apologies if that does`nt help you, but its midnight here, most are probably in bed. I have just be talking to my daughter in London on skype is why I am awake. cheers!

for those of you who live in Secret harbour or Warnbro, Port Kennedy area, or anywhere really. There is a Darling Range Brewing Pub, called The Last Drop in Warnbro, near the top of Curry Street. Nice british looking building, with the black wooden trim... has a great atmosphere, as with the other pubs in its collection. For those that like the smorgasbord type of eating, in Kwinana at the Motor Lodge, (The road its on runs behind the Kwinana Hub shopping centre.)as part of the social area, where they have bands occasionally and that singing treat, kareoka Is Kwinana Buffet. They have sea food on Friday and Saturday night where you pay nearly $30 each, but its good value. They also have reduced prices for pensioners and children. They are open Wed to Sunday, but not Saturday lunchtime. They do Lunches starting 11.30am to 3pm, and dinner 5.30 to 8pm. They are in the lounge bar area. They also do group meals and functions. They have soccer sometimes on the big screens too. The tavern is owned by a consortium which also owns the land behind it , where they are building and selling houses or apartments. The building will eventually be demolished as they a re building another Tavern down across the road from the *Hub* Another Tavern in the area but closer to Secret Harbour is the Vernon Arms, and there is another across the car park... the Olde Barnyard restuaurant think its changed its name. They used to do a set meal on a Sunday cost about $27, but they also do other meals, and functions. Sunsets in the beach area at old Rockingham has won awards, yes but I`m not impressed with the prices. I prefer Winstons, further up the street near , one of those high rise apartment buildings. Good meals, they used to have lambs fry and other types you poms are welcome too. no offence. Its a licenced place. some people also like the Sizzlers eateries, though the only state you get good value for your money at those places is SA... filling your plate with a very large piece of toast is not my kind of meal....no value for money.. in SA you get much more vegies. Ogdens at the Gosnells pub,(Fremantle Road) with the Station markets behind it is a popular place for meals especially at weekends. Ogdens used to be a place the single people around the area meet on Saturday nights as one of the radio stations used to broadcast its program of golden oldies from . there (6pr) The station markets has one of those area, where you can pick a meal from one of a dozen eateries, like, Thai, Chinese, Roast, places. that have sprung up at a lot of chopping centres., Miss Maud`s in Freo is another. and I think there used to be one in the City Arcade only downstairs. You can tell I don`t get to Perth city much! cheers:jiggy:

The weetbix is different as its made from a grain from over east....different soil, and different fertilizers bring out the different flavours. Farmers in Western Australia have to contend with the soil which has to have a lot of superphosphate added to it..(super) and also Urea... they spend millions every year, adding that to the soil to help the cereals along. Over East in various states, they don`t have our problems. they have aluvial soils. But some times when we have a really really dry spell, like the start of this season,the strong winds blow the top soil away, so more has to be added. Crops go in from now until the end of July, or later depending on the rainfall. farmers prefer rain during the night, then the sun comes out and warms up, sometimes that`s what happens put in the agricultural areas, not of course in town here. Sorgum, Lupins ( for the margerines) hops, and barley (for beer) 17 different wheat, for different types of breads, noodles and doughs, like pizza..their are 7 different barley varieties for all the different types of beer..I am knowledgable about this how?? you ask.?I have in the past worked for various research establishments, doing, among other things, phone surveys, for farming and the WA agricultural Depts, so they can get farmers in different areas, to grow those varieties of grains. I have also done one every 5 years on what people smoke... And even if I only drink what ever beer is going at a bbq, I also have worked on beer surveys, that have then produced the various cold brewed beers. So if you find a particular beer, that tastes similar to any you have in Britian, you can guess its because we now have british trained brewers working for the breweries. But a lot of our various states beers are manufactured in New Zealand where it is colder, so thats another reason you might find they are to your taste...

I have found that program of Jamie Oliver`s 30 minute meals, the best one for new and simple fare!! But where oh where do I find the recipe book for them can anyone tell me??

All these odd things are also in other parts of Oz. Some are more common in Victoria, and as a lot of the navy personnel in WA start their careers in Cerberus, the navy training facility.outside of Melbourne.. They have changed the name of one of our iconic shops, Target. Not hit the Target, they pronounce it Tarjay, as they consider Target, too common a word..Target as in Ballet. Your cold meat Devon is our Polony... commonly thinly sliced and wrapped around the chips in fish n chips. Covered in Tom Sauce. We dont seem to have the *biscuits* that the yanks have with their breakfast, maybe they are referring to what we call damper, made with flour and water, and burnt or cooked on a wood fire. Damper that the aborigines make, is made from the flour of nuts and berries, and flavoured with honey from the wattleflowers, not jam from a tin or jar. Utes in the bush, dogs in utes is a competition in some country towns both here and over east. How many utes can you fit at a sports ground with a dog (animal ) in or on it. Utes, are short for utility trucks, smaller than the 1 tonner that came out in the 1980s. The reason I wrote dogs (the animal) is, there are other things referred to as doges. A Prime mover, (cab and engine) connected to a doge, the trailer that sheep are carted around in, can be one or 2. In other states they are called, B-Doubles. You will see then more often in Fremantle when a live-sheep carrier is in dock. You will also smell them, full of manure and sheep. They have to have special licenses to actually be allowed to drive in and around part of this city. Leach H`way is one of their common thoroughfares. so endeth the next lesson..:jiggy:hope it was helpful.

Yeah I had to laugh at some of your comments too. The bare feet thing, when my Morrocan son-in-law came here the first time, we had just come back from picking them up from the airport, and stopped at the servo. he watched a guy pull in in a large Toyota 4x4 admired the vehicle and kept tapping me on the shoulder , pointing to the guys bare feet/ he pointed to the vehicle and then the guys feet about 3 times.... he associated bare feet to mean a poor person. I had to tell him, judging by the vehicle it was a work car, a trailer on the back with obvious signs of a plasterer. I said * he probably has been in work boots all day, and its a relief to take them off. But we were always encouraged to take our shoes off, its freedom, your toes do`nt stay cramped up all day. When you or your kids are ill, have a cold, and are hot (as in your body temperature) the medical staff, doctors, etc, tell you to take your shoes off, and let the heat out. What`s strange about that?? I was sure the first thing someone would mention are frangers, condoms , not Durex? When I was younger, we had sticky tape that was made by Durex, so a guy asking a british immigrant for Durex at a newsagency, being pointed to a Chemist, got our attention when it first started happening. the first time I read that was in our Church newspaper....... I will get around to the others some other time!

They used to say mother`s Day came 9 months after Father`s day, and that`s true in a way for all the new Mums who made it in to this fraternity this year.. I have a Multimedia message I send out every year on my mobile to about 100 women... so this year besides the hordes sent it to this morning I thought I might share it with you here! Mother`s of the world unite on this our Special Day, Domestic chores are banned today, we only want to play! Put arguments and tiffs aside, as they only get in the way! Flowers and gifts like the Wii will surely make us gay. 1000 women walking along, 1000 women singing in this song. Mother`s of the world REVOLT and join my special chain, as we have lots to gain. sms your friends and mine and lets show our kids WE rule their lives again. Please join my chain today and have a PERFECT day! I have had 23 answers since 9.30am when the first one went out. I expect in about an hour to get an answer from Jules in London, and some of her friends in Africa and Asia.... My Dad used to complain about the friends my brother had growing up, he called them the League of Nations, as we were friends with, Dutch, Polish, Ukraine, Austrian, French, Italian, and the rest of those sorts of people who were displaced after the 2nd world war... so me chatting and sharing things with you lot are no different. and It didnt rain...... not yet but its coming.... soon I hope. If it doesnt rain by the middle of this month, we will have no mushroom season, (in the paddocks out in the bush).... who had mushrooms with their breakfast this morning??? cheers

Its nice to read all your comments, from both far and near. Ah our warm weather is coming to an end, so I will warn those that have only been here a short time, days, weeks, months. May is notorious for the start of our winter storms. They usually arrive in a rush, with very wet windy lightning and oh so very loud thunder you might mistake for the sound of bombs going off. Take note of the warnings you are seeing shown and talked about on the news channels. Our Civil Emergency Teams, are gearing up to be called out in all sorts of wild weather to help, repair roofs which have lost tiles, and gusts that rip the colorbond off too. Make sure your gutters and downpipes are cleaned, as the last thing you want is that rain and flooding coming into your homes from the lack of maintenance. Not every Landlord makes sure those things are done. Unfortunately its something we have to put up with.. If you have achance go online and look at the storms we had last year in March, where cars had hailstorm damage, as well as flooding in some parts of West Perth, and the wealthier suburbs. At the time I had to laugh a little as that is where the movers and shakers of this state, work and play (with our taxes, banks and the like) and they were really hurt in the pockets. Make sure there iis no furniture, kids toys, garbage bins left out, as in the very strong wind they will be picked up and become a dangerous implement to incurr damage. hope fully Mother`s Day 2011 will only have light rain... and that the sun will sneak through when you least expect it. And ladies, Have a nice family Day!