newjez

I grew up in Oz. I never really appreciated what grand parents and uncles and cousins were, and how important they are.

People always assume I'm not an animal lover because I don't have a dog. But I loved the dogs I had as a child and I fully intend to get one when I retire and I can afford the time to devote to her (I've always had female dogs). There is something very special about owning a dog. It can be a much closer bond than you have with people, and it can be soul destroying when they pass. I expect after covid there may be a glut of rescue dogs, as I lot of people got dogs to cope with lockdown.

Another option may be to invest in a residential property fund. That should give you the advantages of being invested in Australian residential real estate and keep up with the rising prices without the hassle.

Yes, but that's not even true. If you are not up to date on your stamp, you won't get a full UK pension. It may have been different in times past. But no longer. You can get your stamp paid on jobseekers, and with child benefit. But it still stands that if you haven't paid your stamp, you won't get a full pension. I have paid my full stamp in the UK. But I only have three years full time in Australia, and about ten years part time. I can claim full pension in both countries. But if my work experience was the other way around, I couldn't.

A lot will depend on whether Australia can get its vaccine program up to speed with the UK.

My sister's kids went to a Catholic school. But they hated it, as they said if you weren't Irish or Italian you didn't fit it. I knew a lot of kids who went to a Jewish primary. They were all pretty advanced by high school.

I've always wanted to make cheese.

I don't know a lot about the international baccalaureate, only from what my son tells me. But he had a couple of very gifted friends who took it, but their results didn't reflect this. Whether that was affected by covid, I'm not sure, as last years A levels were a bit of a mess.

But they could take a gap year couldn't they, as long as they were resident in the UK, and reapply after the gap year?

Most of these things seem to be optional, although they screw you if you don't comply. The Australian government is good at making offers you can't refuse.

Isn't there a law in Australia where banks need to be completely open to the tax office? I would have thought Centrelink would have the same access

If their Australian citizenship is approved before departing, they won't be able to use their British passports, as an Australian citizen can't get a visa to enter Australia. I've been here before. They would need to get their Australian passport.

Saw my first daffodil flower for the year yesterday.

I went to school in Mt Lawley which had a massive Greek and Italian population who came over after the war, with a scattering of Vietnamese refugees, although the later pretty much kept themselves to themselves. Everyone at school seemed to be related to everyone else. Places change though. My Lawley went through a gentrification process, and I guess the Italians and Greeks took advantage of the increase in property prices and moved out, because it has a different feel now.

Personally I think this is what makes poms in Oz so fantastic. The people's of two great nations slagging each others weather off to justify their migration decisions. I often have conversations with my mum in Perth where I tell her the weather is freezing, and she tells me she could never live in freezing weather again. I ask her what she has done all day, and she tells me she has been stuck inside all day because it's been an absolute scorcher. Both nation's get a bit of extreme weather for a short period of time. It's really not that bad and not that different. Probably rains more often in the UK and less often but rains harder in Australia. Although it feels like UK rain is becoming more Australian like. But to be honest, I can cope perfectly fine with the weather of both countries.

Water butts are frozen. Not solid, but can't get any water out. Don't really want to use the tap in this weather.

When we get to that age we will offer them the money, but they will have the responsibility of looking after us. A bit king Lear, but their choice and it will give them a good start.

I laughed at that. Actually I live with my mother in law, and she is brilliant at keeping my wife under control by proxy, so I don't need to get involved in any conflicts. Plus she loves sport, so I watch sports with her on her very comfortable lounge suite.

When I came from Perth to the UK in 95, I was amazed at just how foreign a country it was. Since then Perth has changed to become more like the UK over the last 25 years than it used to be from a retail supermarket point of view, but to say that Perth is like the UK is utter tosh. You could possibly say that Perth shopping malls are like UK shopping malls. But post covid, there is doubt as to whether the UK will even have shopping malls.

Tall poppy syndrome is where anyone who is different, or exceeds the norm is cut down to size. Essentially it's bullying. I don't know if bullying is worse in Australian schools, or if it is handled badly in Australian schools. I would be surprised, but I have no prior experience. I had no experience of this at my high school. We had a particularly gifted student who became a neurologist, and I wasn't aware of her or anyone else being bullied because of intelligence. I know my brother suffered a bit, but he went to a really rough school. Maybe it's a socioeconomic thing. My school had a lot of Italian and Greek kids, and these people tended to push their kids as much as possible to succeed. I would say it's possibly something to be aware of but not something to worry about.

I would have thought the% not finishing year 11 and 12 would be very low. What % is lots?

I thought Qatar was ok, but still prefer Emirates.

I would say top of the list is make sure your partner wants to come and isn't just doing it to make you happy.

I actually have a knee injury from cycling, which running helps deal with. Something about the muscles pulling differently on the knee. I'm a firm believer in doing a variety of activities.

I've just been for a run in the snow. The cold tugs at your lungs a bit but it's not too bad. In Perth we would get up at 5 am, out by 6am to train. Cycle up the hills and back. Do over a hundred k and be back by ten before the heat hits. Then you spend the rest of the day in the pool or at the beach if the surf was up. It takes a bit of commitment, but it's certainly possible. You have to adapt to your climate.