Sydney, Katoomba and The Blue Mountains

I might just have mentioned once or twice that Australia is full of really interesting people. Well we are now staying with Malcolm and Julie Hill in Sydney.

Malcolm was a Director of Promotions for EMI before retiring and the house is full of gold disks from a huge range of stars. Among the many stars he looked after were, Radiohead, Tina Turner, Blur and Queen. They have made us most welcome and produced a fantastic Bar B Que of Butterfly Leg Of Lamb with mint and garlic, delicious washed down with a rather special bottle of "Monopole Clos De La Mouchere Puligny Montrachet 1997 1st Cru: for me this will remain a highlight of the Oz Wine Tour.

I need to go back a bit now because I forgot to mention that Malcolm picked us up from the airport and dropped us off in the centre of Sydney for the afternoon. Not that he wanted to get rid us us, but he had to rush off attend a football match at a club where he is a director. It proved to be a brilliant idea because it gave us a great opportunity to look around this spectacular city, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and Circular Quay. I think we manged to see most of the sights then as the sun was going down we then boarded the ferry from Circular Quay across to Manley which takes you across Sydney Harbour. The ferry boat ride is quite an experience and one you are not likely ever to forget. I could go on but you'll just have to come out here and see it for your selves.

The following day he gave us a guided tour around the beautiful countryside north of Sydney, we drove out to Barrenjoey Headland and then West Head. More things to add to your list of things to do in Oz.

As if he had not already done enough, Malcolm then drove us down to Katoomba for the gig at the Clarenden Guest House and Theatre. Katoomba is a picturesque town at the top of the Blue Mountain Range. This section of the Great Dividing Range near Sydney gets its name from the blue mist that rises from millions of eucalyptus trees and hangs in the mountain air, tinting the sky and the range alike. In the colony's early days, the Blue Mountains were believed to be an insurmountable barrier to the west. The first expeditions followed the streams in the valleys until they were defeated by cliff faces rising vertically above them. Unfortunately the sun deserted us for the first time since we arrived in Oz so instead of spectacular views we were met with lots of mist and rain. Despite the rain and the mist we drove out to Govertts Leap through the National Forrest and took our pictures across the mist covered valley. The gig in Katoomba was quite special.

The Clerenden is unique 20s style guest house with it's own music theatre. Lots of well known musicians have played there and their signed posters lined the walls. We had a very lively audience, good singers and quite a few of Vin's fans had driven up from Sydney to see the show. Steve the sound enginner did a brilliant job setting up the sound for us and although Vin was distracted by the coffee machine on several occasions, his usual pathos and comedy were matched in equal measure and the faithful left happy along with the newly converted. Unbeknown to me Vin and Malcolm were sat at the back during my set and were doing their Simon Cowel and Pete Waterman X Factor act, judging my performance, they told me this morning I had just about passed! Another wonderful evening in Australia. Thank you Katoomba. "We think yer great".

The following morning we shared a hearty breakfast with a couple of Vin Folk then we headed back to Sydney for a bit of an afternoon nap. This evening we will be guests of "Crowded House@ who are playing at the Enmore Theatre, tickets courtesy of Malcolm. Our next move is to Canberra the Capitol of Australia and home of the National Festival, see you there.

I hope you've noticed that I've been a bit more deliberate with the layout of the Blog. For the first time since we arrived I've found myself with a bit of spare time and a chance to experiment, so I've managed to master a few of the layout aspects of this thing. My paragraphs have not been quite what they should be. I hope this makes it easier to read, please note, we are always open to constructive suggestions!