Nicola's Notes

1 Jan 2007: Australia - Celebrating New Year.

I knew when I checked my luggage in at Buenos Aires airport on Christmas night and my luggage tag was hand written for my journey to Australia via Santiago and Auckland, that there would be trouble ahead. As I predicted, I arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday morning but my luggage didn’t! I had a 12 hour wait for it to reappear.

However, this hindrance was erased by a reunion with my lovely cousin Jenny and we spent the entire first day in Melbourne gossiping and catching up – communication being great skills of ours! I also met the three friends travelling with Jen, namely Rob, Louise and Sarah who are fantastic company and fast becoming firm friends.

On arrival in Melbourne, apart from being unimpressed with the temperature as it seemed seriously cold after Argentina, I instantly adored the place. I would describe it as a slow paced, clean, friendly, safe and fashionable, with ornate Victorian type architecture. There are many character-filled areas and the riverside is particularly hip and trendy and packed with coffee houses, restaurants and bars.

Melbourne has a population of 3.2 million and was a prime settling land for the Europeans (mostly British) from the 1830s. The Yarra River runs through the city and the city centre is about 3 miles from the coast and the Bay of Port Phillip. The wealth from Goldfields assisted with the speedy prosperity here, and in the last 50 years, the increased diversity of people has added urbanity. (By the way I apologise to my Australian friends who already know all this!)

Jenny and I toured the city visiting Federation Square, St Pauls Cathedral, The Treasury and Parliament House, The Law Courts, Royal Botanic Gardens and the Shrine of Remembrance, and amid all the culture we found time to take a rest and enjoy endless sparkling wine in bars! By the time we got back to our hostel we were exhausted but also quite giggly!

On Thursday all five of us had the wonderful experience of a day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground watching the Ashes 4th Test, Day 3. The result was ghastly, but the atmosphere, enhanced by the English “Barmy Army” was hugely enjoyable and it is certainly a wonderful memory to cherish. On Thursday night we decided to join the Barmy Army at “Turf Bar” and it was quite a night! We drank, we sang, we met new people and generally enjoyed the rowdiness! It was so great, that amid the noise, I rang mum, Paul and Jonathan to ensure they could appreciate the singing, and I think it’s safe to say they at least knew we were enjoying ourselves!

On Friday, in my delicate state, Jenny and I visited the Immigration Museum which was fascinating, followed by a walk around Queen Victoria Market. This tour gave me the chance to resume my Nuffield study by interrogating random butchers on their beef marketing and specifications! Jenny meanwhile, went shopping for a new bag!

On Saturday morning, after another late night out, I scrapped myself out of my pit to Melbourne airport by 6.00am en route to Sydney. I was hugely impressed by the airport as check-in took 5 minutes which gave me time for a huge mug of tea to sober up! I listened to “Classical” radio on the plane and as we landed, Aled Jones was singing “O come all ye Faithful” which was amusing if also a little odd!

Sydney is the largest city in Australia with a population of 4 million and the first European settlers established themselves here from 1788. The famous harbour divides the city into north and south and the harbour bridge joins both shores.

After checking in at our hostel, I went on a mission to see the Harbour Bridge and Opera House and I must admit, I was impressed! The harbour was absolutely fantastic in the sunshine and there were endless boats. I sat there for ages enjoying the scenery, taking in the atmosphere and trying to acknowledge the reality of where I was. There were endless British and Japanese tourists wielding cameras, city maps and hip bags and on missions for perfect photographs! The British men were mostly wearing tropical or English football shirts and shorts and their pale skin was acutely burning in the Aussie sunshine! After all this personal amusement, I went around Circular Quay, Botanical Gardens, Parliament House, Hyde Park and I also enjoyed some serenity inside St Mary Cathedral.

And then to New Years Eve and a very long queue to get into Macquaries Point gardens to experience the Sydney Harbour Bridge Fireworks display. We bought food and drink and rugs and picnicked all day overlooking the harbour and thousands of boats throwing parties. We met many British people and we ended up increasing our group number to at least 10! Jenny and I also met up with Michael Harries and his girlfriend Elle from Pembrokeshire. We enjoyed endless sparkling wine and at midnight the fireworks display was amazing. It was also the bridge’s 75th Anniversary so it seemed extra special.

Meanwhile, I must thank all my friends and family for the contact I have received in the past few days wishing me well over Christmas and New Year as it is hugely appreciative. An amusing call from my dear friend Mike in Builth, looking for a taxi home and if I could oblige at 2.00am on some random morning in rural Wales was hilarious so cheers for that Mike! And now its New Years Day morning and we are all still lying in bed in our hostel acutely aware that it has just turned midnight in the UK so I wish you all a happy one!

9 Jan 2007: Sydney & Bondi.

I have high hopes for my time in Australia and I have been trying to establish my first impressions of the two cities since my arrival 12 days ago. While Melbourne seemed slower paced, clean and friendly, Sydney seems more cosmopolitan with a very diverse multicultural make-up. Sydney seems fast paced, vibrant and boastful and why wouldn’t it? It has a renowned reputation following the successful Olympic Games in 2000, coupled with the famous picture postcard view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It is also lucky to have a hot climate which adds to the general feeling of wellbeing by its 4 million residents.

I won’t yet go into detail about my thoughts on Australia as so far I have only experienced some city life. Once I have travelled to the likes of Garry’s 120,000 acre outback farm, Andrew Watson’s cotton growing empire and Rob Kelly’s Queensland wool and beef enterprise I should be able to summarise better.

However I will give you some initial facts and figures. The population is 20,500,000 which gives this country the lowest population density in the world with an average of 2.5 people per sq km. It has a multicultural make up with many coming from the UK since Captain Cook landed here in 1788. There also seems to be a huge number of Chinese in Sydney! Apparently, only 2.5% of the population now calls itself Aborigine and these are mainly situated in the Northern Territory. There are seven states in Australia, namely Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the Island of Tasmania.

The current GDP is 3% and inflation is also about 3%. Unemployment percentage is only 6% which hopefully means that I can find a job! The Prime Minister is John Howard and he represents the Conservative Coalition Party and they are on their fourth term. Australia has good economic growth and this is increasingly related to international trade with the vastly growing China. The downside is their trade deficit and the ludicrous prices of houses, mirroring if not outdoing the kind of growth we see in London. Aussie farmers are also experiencing increased drought and bushfires.

I also must mention the Australians infatuation with sport! I know the Ashes Test has been on, but this general enthusiasm borders on the ridiculous! The most popular sports are Australian Rules football (you should see the teeny-tiny shorts they wear!) football league, rugby league and rugby union (my personal favourite!). They are also good at swimming (you must be to escape all the deadly aquatic life!), cricket (the 5-0 thrashing!) tennis, basketball, netball and hockey. And don’t get me started on the beach sports including surfing and yachting.

Anyway, my week has been VERY tough as I have been lying on Bondi Beach literally burning with Jenny Rob, Louise and Sarah! We stayed in central Sydney until Thursday and then travelled across to Bondi where we checked into another Backpacker Hostel. I find the benefits of this accommodation include the ease to meet new people and the very cheap cost – per night it’s about $30 dollars / £13 pounds! The disadvantage is the lack of privacy with at least 8 persons per room and in many instances mixed genders! Jenny has befriended many travellers since her arrival and as a result I am already friends with Alan from Glasgow and Sandy, a large pig farmer from Yorkshire to name but two!

This past week has been a true “backpackers” style week for us with a mix of tourist attractions, cinema visits, lazy beach days and socially active late nights! We have frequent countless bars and clubs and met so many people from the UK doing exactly the same thing! I have also enjoyed my quiet morning visits to Starbucks armed with the Sydney Morning Herald to get my daily dosage of tea and news updates.

On arrival at Bondi we immediately hit the beach and I was very impressed. I expected this town to be quite tacky and resemble Blackpool or Brighton but I was wrong. I have not seen one amusement arcade or cheap jack shop and along the seafront instead of the countess familiar fast-food outlets, there are Sushi bars, seafood restaurants, smoothie bars and fresh fruit shops. I should not be surprised at this when all around me are the “beautiful people”! Everywhere I look there are tanned, attractive, thin people with the men here for surfing, the girls for sunbathing, and everyone craving a good time! The beach is packed every day and it does not take very long to burn! I swear I have never been as tanned as I am right now!

I had a wonderful day on Saturday with huge thanks to my wonderful Australian Nuffield scholar friend Andrew Watson, the Cotton Grower! He was invited down to Sydney as a valued customer of the Commonwealth Bank and I was lucky to be invited. I joined their group of 16 (mostly cotton farmers) and as well as catching up with Andrew, Jenny and I both joined them all for dinner at Star City, Darling Harbour at a wonderful Italian Restaurant. I was lucky to sit next to a 1997 Nuffield Scholar and current vice chairman of Nuffield Australia, David Brownhill who was a very interesting guy. He asked me many questions including my objectives whilst I am in Australia and I jokingly said “I am looking for a job, or if this fails, a rich husband”! Somehow I don’t think he is going to forget this crazy Welsh lass in a hurry! I must personally thank Andrew and the Commonwealth Bank for their huge kindness to Jenny and I because we thoroughly enjoyed our evening.

Sunday was my last day at Bondi and Jenny and I walked 8 km along the coast from Bondi to Coogee, another coastal resort, to work off our hangovers! In the evening, the five of us joined 2 new friends from Canada and 2 guys from Melbourne for “Sunday Happy Hour” at another bar! Although I was tired, some red wine, good company, and views of the beach in the moonlight made it a very memorable evening.

As this latest adventure with Jenny, Sarah, Louise and Rob comes to an end, I can confirm that I have had a fantastic first 12 days in Australia. I intend to see Jenny again in early February with Uncle Mansel and Aunty Ros, and plan to also get back to Bondi to see the others. In the meantime, I leave them there, waiting to move into their flat and start jobs. As for me, it is Monday morning and I am leaving Sydney and heading down the south coast via Canberra and the Snowy Mountains towards Victoria. My next solo adventure is about to begin!

If anyone is getting bored with receiving these updates, just let me know and I will take you off the list as it seems to be getting bigger every week! My latest photos should now be on my website www.bugbitten.com/nicolaray for your viewing.

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13 Jan 2007: Canberra & Victoria.

The advantage of hiring a car and setting off on a sole adventure is the ability to “dry out” from the over consumption of liquor over this long festive period! On Monday morning, I left Sydney in a Hyundai 1.5l automatic headed south towards Victoria. It was heavenly to be back behind the wheel and even more fantastic to be back on the correct side of the road after the challenges of North and South America.

I passed the city of Wollongong and my first stop along the coast was at the small town of Kiama which boasts a “blowhole” in the rocks with spray of up to 60m in the air. It was a lovely hot sunny day so I also enjoyed watching the surfers negotiating the waves. I also had a good walk along the coastline and saw the large unused lighthouse. I then continued south to Batemans Bay which was to be my base for the night. This town is larger than Kiama, is a fishing port and also popular for yachting. I stayed at a budget motel and was pleased to get time to do laundry, sort my luggage, write up my journal plus transfer photos from my camera to my laptop. It was a very productive evening and also blissfully alcohol free!

On Tuesday morning I arrived in Canberra, the capital of Australia and home to 300,000 residents. My initial thought was that this city was totally strange! From the annoyingly circuitous infrastructure, the outspread sights, the lack of a city centre and the endless ragged bush-land around the city. However, having spent two days here, I have now come to appreciate, adore and respect this “park infested” city!

I got straight into sightseeing and did a 12km walking tour as suggested in my “Lonely Planet” guide. The huge lake, called “Burley Griffin” is the centrepiece, and endless cyclists, walkers and joggers scale this 35km perimeter constantly. I walked via the lake to Parliament House which was completed in 1988 and is actually dug into Capitol Hill so its roof is in fact a lawn! Nearby is the old Parliament House which now houses the National Portrait Gallery. The walk also took me past the National Library, Commonwealth House and the High Court of Australia. The National Carillon was a gift from the British Government in 1963 and sounds identical to Big Ben in London which was a nice surprise when I passed it at 3pm! From there I walked up Anzac Parade to the Australian War Memorial and its large dome which inside has the tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier.

This Memorial also houses a museum preserving the history of Australia at war. 102,000 Australians have died at war in total and I learnt a great deal about when the ANZACS (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) joined the Great War and landed in Gallipoli, Turkey on 25th April 1915. They fought a losing battle and nearly 9000 Australian lives were lost in the eight months they were there. Soldiers also fought across Europe, but the ill-fated landing at Gallipoli was a significant date for Australians and since then the country acknowledges “Anzac Day” on 25/4 as we in the UK acknowledge Armistice Day on 11/11.

On Wednesday I took a tour of Parliament House and saw both the Senate and House of Representatives chamber. I also learnt the history of the Constitution put together in 1897, plus I viewed the Magna Carta – one of only 4 in the world from 1297! From there I walked the two miles across the city to the Royal Australia Mint where they have been producing 12 billion coins since it opened in 1965. I even got to mint my own $1 coin so I now have a keep-sake! The whole morning was very productive and I swear that I am quickly becoming a walking encyclopaedia of useful (or useless) information! Following this, I drove up Black Mountain near the city and visited the “Telstra Tower” which enabled me to take a lift 870m above sea level to view both Canberra city and the surrounding bush land which was worthwhile on such a sunny day. Finally, I went swimming at the Canberra Olympic Pool and swam 1500m which was totally stress-free as they had a separate pool outside for the noisy kiddies!

I left Canberra and ACT (Australian Capital Territory) on Thursday and headed south into Victoria. The temperature outside was 38 degrees and I witnessed tonnes of smoke as I got closer to raging bush fires. I listened to the local radio which was dedicated to the fires and the people affected. I also saw Kangaroos and farmers moving cattle on horseback and it was at this point I realised I was in rural Australia!

I chose Inverloch as my location for the night and it was a good option. A seaside village, with a retirement feel was simple and relaxed and the beach was stunning. I walked at least 3 miles along the shore and it was a truly idyllic setting. The sea was warm and I enjoyed the heat of the evening and took loads of photos. I also learnt that the town was established in 1889 and was named after Loch Inver in Scotland. On Friday morning I made the trip back to Melbourne, along the South Bass Coast and passing Phillip Island.

I am now in Melbourne in Urban Central Hostel which has a maximum of four people per dorm which does give some privacy. I also have a top bunk bed which is hugely fun if extremely challenging after too much wine!! I have also booked a ticket to the Australian Open Tennis Championship on Tuesday and I am really looking forward to it. This event is huge and as famous as Wimbledon but without the unpredictable weather! In fact, the temperature for Melbourne next week is 36-38 degrees so I am a happy girlie as I still find anything less than 25 degrees too bloody cold!

The most frustrating thing about Australia so far is the lack of free internet access. In China, USA and South America wireless was free as I could log onto someone else’s connection. Here, it’s impossible and even in Starbucks and Mc Donalds I have to pay Telstra a phenomenal fee just to get 30 minutes! I have however managed to post my first set of Australian photos to my blog and am in the process of putting on captions.

With the lack of free internet comes the difficulty of checking the BBC news website daily. Me not receiving news is like me not having wine – it’s insufferable! Jenny correctly summed me up in Sydney by saying “you really are your fathers’ daughter” as I am always armed with a newspaper or checking the BBC or The Times websites!

The domestic news in Australia is comparable with the UK with headlines focused on the occasional fatal shooting or stabling, local government legislative announcements, sport and the weather! The international news tends to focus on Iraq and President Bush plus some basic UK news. Inevitably here, there are also more news reports on countries from the South Pacific and Indian Oceans.

I have now been away from home for exactly 80 days and I truly have “Been around the world in.....”! I also cannot believe this is my 11th email update! I recognise that sooner or later I must seek employment and this will be my next challenge. Beware all Australian friends – I may be seeking for assistance in this matter from you all soon! I hope everyone going enjoys the Pembrokeshire Hunt Ball this weekend. It seems strange not going after attending every year for at least the last 15, but it is no hardship to break a habit every once in a while!

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23 Jan 2007: Australia – Research, Rainfall & Nuffield Reunions!

Bill Bryson is the greatest travel writer of our time and when he stated that Australians are the biggest gamblers in the world, I simply had to satisfy my curiosity. So, 1 week last Saturday night, soberly, I undertook some intense “consumer research” to establish whether this was true. I headed to the Crown Entertainment Complex, a fascinating place of glitz on the banks of the river Yarra and housing the largest casino in the Southern Hemisphere – and it was large! It took me 1 hour to walk through it and my research results were astonishing. An endless array of punters losing money at a rate I have never before witnessed! Interestingly it was mostly 35-60 year old women dominating the thousands of fruit machines, whilst at the poker tables were middle aged men coupled with younger, brash Chinese men trying their luck with cash I am sure they didn’t have.

There were also many tourists, easily identifiable with gormless looks on their faces and wearing Hard Rock Café T-shirts! Amongst this madness, were snack bars and alcoholic beverage areas which were unexpectedly quiet. I then realised that these “gamblers” were stone cold sober and obviously prefer to get their buzz from gambling instead of smoking or getting plastered. Also in the casino was a huge area dedicated to sports betting and when I passed, I saw greyhound racing and trotting on TVs and men watching transfixed! It was a very informative Saturday night and one I am not likely to forget in a hurry!

On Sunday morning I went to St Pauls Cathedral for a service and I really enjoyed it, especially singing “Immortal Invisible” with far more voice and passion than anyone else in the congregation! I also met the priest who has relatives in Pembrokeshire! After a long, lazy lunch with the newspapers and a couple of Shiraz I went to the Cinema and watched the new Will Smith film “The Pursuit of Happyness” which is an awesome film and I strongly recommend it to you all!

The rest of the week (excluding Tuesday) was designated to “business” as I opened a bank account with Commonwealth Bank, did a stack of internet research, sent off some CVs and wrote a load of correspondence. All this coupled with the same top bunk bed and location for 1 week gave me some stability from all my travelling.

On Tuesday (16th) I went to the Australian Open Tennis Championship and what an enjoyable day it was! The temperature soared to 41 degrees, the ground temperature on courts outside hit 47 degrees and all outside play was suspended from 1.30pm until 8pm as it was too hot! I finally got to watch our sole Brit (Scot) Andy Murray play at 10pm and many other games went on until after midnight and all this seemed very unlike Wimbledon! I met lots of people including Ash from Norfolk who is now living in Queensland NZ, but travels extensively and has been away from the UK for over five years. He certainly had some great stories to tell and he’s now planning to go to Chile on my recommendation! I also watched endless Australians getting plastered in the Heineken bars and if there is one thing I have learnt – Australian men cannot sing, no matter how much they believe they can! And if I hear one more dreadful rendition of “Waltzing Matilda” I swear I will go insane! I must admit though, it was a good day with the entertainment enjoyable, good tennis matches and the chance to further enhance my tan!

On Wednesday night, after a very gruelling day writing applications, I casually went to the Crown Complex and a bar with excellent live piano music. What was supposed to be a quiet red wine and an early night turned into a mammoth night out and minor recollection of events after midnight! I met Neil and Tom, two men from the construction industry who were from South-East Victoria and engaged in meetings in Melbourne. I will not state that I was blameless in the evenings’ merriment and red wine consumption, but they were definitely faster drinkers than me! We talked, we laughed, we danced and damn it was a good night! After the music finished, we went downstairs to the casino where they gave me $50 and tried to teach me to gamble! Me attempting to undertake this process anything but soberly was a total disaster and I lost the lot in 5 minutes! They also courteously ensured I got back to my hostel and I swear it’s a long time since I had a heavy night like that, but damn it wasn’t half bad!

By Saturday morning I was on the move again, this time for happy reunions with important Nuffield people in mind! I travelled 2 hours North near to the City of Bendigo and to the beautifully decorated home of Andrew and Rachel Broad (Sch 2006) who stayed in Pembrokeshire with us back in September. It was wonderful to see them again and I think they were pleased to see me as I brought the rain! Their farm is over 2500 acres with another 2500 acres share farmed. He produces wheat, canola and is also in sheep production. Andrew did his Nuffield research on a very topical “GM Crops” subject which he has just completed. We took a drive around his farm and he confirmed that water was not so scarce with a yearly average 16-17 inches coupled with underground rivers. He did however confirm a poor 2006 harvest with the severe drought and he averaged only 0.2 tonnes per acre of wheat.

We headed out to a “bloody good, typical Aussie pub” that evening and I enjoyed my first steak in Australia. Hilariously, this pub owns a large, red London Double-Decker bus to ferry people to and from Bendigo! You can imagine my reaction to this bus parked outside an Australian rural pub on a random Saturday night! After our meal we drove into Bendigo and went to an Irish pub and cafe. I really enjoyed their hospitality and appreciate them making me feel so welcome. They have said that I can stay with them as often as I like and they may yet regret saying this with more frequent visits!

On Sunday morning, I drove another hour north to the historical town of Echuca which sits on the banks of the Murray River and separates the state of Victoria from New South Wales. Made famous from the paddle-boat era when it transported mainly wool from farm, it has seen a revival in the past twenty years and is now a popular tourist destination. Surprisingly, Echuca has profiteered from “gambling”! Each state in Australia creates legislation which sometimes differs from others, and because Victoria outlawed gambling until the 1970s, the public travelled north from Melbourne to NSW to participate. Therefore, much investment and commerce has been created as a result of the wealth generated!

Here, is also the home of Jim Gelch and his wife Helen. Jim is the Director of Nuffield Australia and an all-round very decent Australian guy! They had arranged a BBQ with some Nuffield Scholars although I was the only “International” representative in attendance! I was introduced to Scholar Paul Bethune and wife Sally (2003), Dennis Moon (2001), and Jamie Snell and his wife Anne (2007). We sat on the lawn by their lake and enjoyed a feast of excellent food and discussion and it was a very pleasant afternoon. Jim and Helen also took me for a drive around the towns of Echuca and Moana to educate me on the area and I met one of their four sons “Neil”. I enjoyed staying with them and their hospitality was typically first-rate!

On Monday, I continued north to the agricultural town of Swan Hill and the 8000 acre farm of Leigh Vial (Sch 2006) and his lovely wife Sue. I also met Digby (3 years) and Rory (6 months) and an assortment of animals including a dog, ducks, chickens and Kangaroos! Yes, family and friends its official! I have now witnessed Kangaroos jumping fences and grazing near to the house and it was all an absolute delight!

Leigh’s farm consists of rice production, wheat, barley, alfalfa, plus sheep and he is also trialling some very interesting environmental schemes to benefit his land and production. Due to the drought, he had no rice crop this year and confirmed that although Australia usually produces about 850-950,000 tonnes of rice annually, there was only 150,000 tonnes this year which has had a huge impact across the chain.

I left Leigh on Tuesday morning and travelled back to Melbourne but not before I had autographed their bathroom wall! Each guest must sign the wall so I wrote my sentence in Welsh for effect! I also saw comments from both John Yeomans and Mike Giffin (UK Sch) who visited before Christmas! So, finally, I must thank each and every one of my weekend hosts for their hospitality as it was fantastic and also wonderful to be back in a rural, homely environment with excellent company.

To make a couple of final, easy observations, all three houses I stayed at this weekend had similarities. They all had only one story, a toilet room which was separate from the bathroom, an open plan kitchen with dining room and only one TV which was situated in the lounge. All had good gardens with the inevitable big BBQs! On farming, “water” is the single biggest ongoing issue and the probable catalyst for future changes to production methods across the sectors in Australia.

I have many, many more deep thoughts on my weekend but these will have to wait until next weeks’ email! For now, best wishes to all and for those people that I haven’t heard from in weeks (Jonathan especially!) some UK news would be nice!

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28 January 2007: Australia Day Celebrations, A New Local & Politics!

City living in Melbourne is wonderful and following the “Australia Day” celebrations, I believe I am fast becoming a worthy citizen on these soils! Australia Day is celebrated on 26th January as it is the day Captain Cook landed here in 1788. Therefore, last Friday everyone celebrated the 219th birthday of this country – well apart from the Aborigines who are keen to state this country is a lot older than 219! It is a day where the Prime Minister announces the “Australian of the Year” which this year was a man called Tim Flannery who does an enormous amount for the “environment”! It is also the day they announce the Australia Day Awards which consists of a Companion of the Order of Australia, Officer of the Order of Australia, Member of the Order of Australia and Medals of the Order of Australia. 577 people received awards this year but not the successful Aussie cricket team! A press release on Friday confirmed that it was “in stark contrast to the swag of gongs the Queen gave the English team after they won in 2005” which I thought was highly amusing!

The Australia Day Committee of Victoria had put together a big program of events for Melbourne and I was keen to participate and do more “consumer research”. The morning activities consisted of a Melbourne Citizenship Ceremony and Flag Raising Ceremony, both of which I missed as I stayed in bed! However, I had a much more productive afternoon and saw a myriad of activity around the city. The gardens had workshops, live music, fairground rides, trapeze demos, sporting activities and even didgeridoo playing! There was a farmers’ market which gave me the chance to interrogate some producers, and endless food stalls. There was a Vintage Vehicle Display with over 500 cars by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria and a flypast by the RAF which was very impressive. A big draw was the Melbourne Duck Race with the winner claiming a new car. This was just what I needed but unfortunately luck was not on my side and my duck let me down! It was however, great fun to see thousands of ducks going down the river Yarra and I couldn’t help smiling when thinking that this would never happen down the Thames in central London! The day was completed with an excellent fireworks display at 9.00pm.

It was a typical “family day out” with representation and stands from the Fire Brigade, Police, Ambulance Service, Red Cross, Australian Army (I hung around there for a while!), as well as the Cadets, Scouts, Animal Charities and an array of independent businesses. One stand that made me chuckle was the “Australia Lace Guild” as I doubt I would know any members of that! Melbourne’s Government House also had an Open Day so I had a look, especially because its claim is that it’s the largest house ever built in Australia. It is the home of the Governor of Victoria and was built in 1872 but believe me, it’s not that big but extremely grand!

I thoroughly enjoyed my day, made even more pleasant with excellent hot weather and the wonderful sounds of the Royal Australian Artillery Band! Walking around, I noticed some quite interesting things, the most surprising being the sheer numbers of people carrying and aimlessly waving Australian flags! I just couldn’t believe how patriotic everyone was, and not just children and teenagers but adults and pensioners too! I was also astounded by the large numbers of families picnicking under trees in the gardens and using food prepared at home, not gorging at the fast food units. The children were mostly playing sports, with adults eating, drinking, reading or snoozing on their rugs. Relaxation seemed to be fundamental and I was most impressed by this. In the UK on Public Holidays, we Brits unite in retail centres across the country, spend a fortune and stress ourselves out, but here most shops were closed. I felt a strong sense of family values, patriotism and a celebratory atmosphere all day and this tends to automatically generate a positive ambience. I also got a sense of everyone feeling very proud of Australia and their achievements during their short history. It’s generally acknowledged that Australians are an egotistical bunch compared to us humble, modest Brits, but I guess Australia Day brings this all closer to the surface!

Last weekend whilst I was visiting the fellow Nuffield’s at their homes, I felt similar thoughts to Australia Day. Everyone’s attitude tended to be very positive and buoyant. I couldn’t initially determine whether this was just “Nuffielders” but I am fast realising that most Australians seem to have this philosophy. Both Andrew Broad and Leigh Vial were optimistic about their farming futures and they very much see “change” as an ongoing necessary to manage their businesses and maintain profit. They are not fearful of changing systems or altering procedures which have conventionally worked for them. I feel there is something quite refreshing about this attitude as opposed to maintaining historical traditions which may no longer be fitting. It will be interesting (when I get a job!) to assess whether agri-businesses in Australia has similar approaches to business management, and this I cannot wait to find out!

I have also chosen a good pub in Melbourne which I now call “my local”! It’s called “The Charles Dickens Tavern” and is where I can often be found! This pub will be staying open all night for the forthcoming 6-Nations Championship and discovering this has been a big relief!!!!!!! For me, seeing all these games live is imperative, especially with the Rugby World Cup looming! What will be strange is not watching these matches with Jonathan or John or Nigel and I reckon that this will be worse for me than going through Christmas Day alone in Buenos Aires! I do however recognise that is the price I must pay to be here experiencing Australia so I must not moan!

I have also met some very nice people in my local, including a great guy called Simon who is an Associate Director of “Knight Frank”, a Property Management firm in the city. He occasionally frequents the Charles Dickens after work and therefore I have only seen him in a business suit! He talks more than I do which is mind-boggling in itself but it means I am learning a lot about Australian culture which is great!

Finally in this weeks’ report, I must touch on the subject of Politics in the hope that I won’t say anything inappropriate for my Australian friends to respond to irately! I love Political news and 2007 is an election year in Australia so the battle is just getting started. On the right wing we have the current party in power, the Liberals, under the leadership of the current Premier Mr John Howard. On the centre-left side we have the Labour Party under the leadership of the newly appointed Kevin Rudd, a 49 year old ambitious opponent! To stay ahead, John Howard has just announced a national plan for water security but I cannot see this winning him many votes as it is a long-term plan and there is nothing in it for cities. I think this announcement is more to do with a 68 year old Premier demonstrating that he still has lots of ideas and plans and water shortage / climate change is so newsworthy right now. More imperative for Howard is maintaining a sound economy and keeping interest rates low. Australians historically vote on these routine issues, plus jobs, petrol prices and mortgages. Howard generally has a good record here which must carry a lot of weight.

The Labour Party (like in the UK with Tony Blair) has shifted towards the centre ground and is seen as very united for this election campaign. They currently lead in the polls and Kevin Rudd seems to be constantly available to the media and has a reputation of a chaotic work ethic. Labour has also created a $1 million American-style TV ad to reintroduce themselves to the electorate and although I haven’t seen it as TV is not accessible, the papers say that its “slick”! Time will tell on the overall outcome but it’s fairly thought-provoking all the same!

As for me, I am finding this year-long “sabbatical” extremely strange at times! I have always been busy, whether it’s studying or in constant full-time employment and to be unemployed and just “travel” takes some adjusting to! I was originally going to seek casual work in Australia but my approach has changed and I currently await employment with some serious agric-business experience in mind. I have a few meetings next week so I hope something will happen soon. It’s certainly strange not having structure or routines each day, but I am supportively assisting Australia with their current excess “wine mountain” which is a very pleasurable pastime!

Best wishes to everyone and lets hope Wales put up some fine performances at the rugby!

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5 February 2007: Back to the Boardroom & Family Reunions at Perth.

After a long respite, Wednesday last week I was back in a boardroom and into the world of agricultural affairs. I was invited to join a Dairy Australia meeting to discuss the consequences on this years’ drought, the second drought to strike in four years.

There were representatives from Dairy Australia and Australian Dairy Farmers, plus representatives from Fonterra, Tatura Milk Cooperative and Murray Goldburn and there were about 15-20 people present. It was an interesting afternoon and I will explain some of the analysis.

It was agreed that within the state of Victoria, there are many regional variances to the affect of the drought and also variances to overall producer attitudes. Apparently, most farmers are still positive about a buoyant future. Introducing national programs have been acceptable in the past, but most regions want to amend and adjust policies that suit their local producer needs. Instilling confidence across the sector is seen as vital as this generally results in producers’ ability to make decisions to improve or alter their farming systems after the affect of drought.

It seems that most farmers are not so much concerned by the milk price which remains stable, as when the next big issue (like drought) is likely to occur and the inevitable increasing of fuel and forage costs. Future restriction on water use is likely to halt the ability to expand, and this could preclude young people from continuing in the dairy sector. With land and water trading values high, many first-class producers with no current financial concerns, are currently leaving the industry because of the increased “risk” factors attached.

And it’s not only the first-class producers leaving. Those less progressive farmers, who did not respond boldly to the drought of 2002-3 but survived, are far more vulnerable this time and it is possible that many of these will exit the industry too.

Following the comprehensive report from world Scientists on Friday, Climate Change is now seen as a reality throughout the world. Drought in Australia will impact on the way Australians farm with their structures changing to suit a hotter, drier climate. Annual producer returns will have to be higher as farmers see increasing variable costs (especially water), increased red tape, plus a rapidly changing market, led by competition and a consumer who demands quality, choice and value for money.

I suspect elements of “nervousness” by industry leaders at present as they do not have the answers or information to supply to producers on Climate Change and its impact going forward. It continues to be newsworthy and is seen in the media daily, which instils anxiety by farmers as long-term decisions are more difficult to make.

There is one thing I learnt at this meeting which I thought was thought provoking! Traditionally, farmers generally adjust their businesses during a time frame when agriculture is excelling. Those who attempt adjusting during times of hardship have done it out of necessity which often brings about their downfall!

By Friday, I was packing my bag and heading to the airport on a mission to Perth for a family reunion! What continues to surprise me is distances around Australia! Melbourne to Perth is a four hour flight which is further than Melbourne to Auckland, NZ! In addition to this, there is a two-hour time difference to take into account! This just puts into context how large this Island / Continent is!

Captain Charles Fremantle formally took possession of what was then known as the West of New Holland in the name of King George IV in May 1829 and selected two town sites, Fremantle and Perth. Perth is a relaxed city with a population of 1.3 million which spreads over the same land area as London! The city was named for Sir Charles Murray, MP for Perth in Scotland at the time. Perth was originally colonised by free settlers although convicts were introduced later to overcome labour shortages.

The weekend enabled me to meet up with my cousin Jenny again plus Uncle Mansel and Aunty Ros who had made the trip to Australia to see Jenny, as well as have a holiday from the Welsh Winter. But before I met them, I was welcomed off the plane in Perth by John Foss, an Australian Nuffield Scholar (year 2000) who I inundated with questions to gather information about farming in Western Australia.

John is a farmers’ son with a 40,000 acre holding specialising in wheat crop and sheep production but his main responsibility is to his business “Marketing Edge”, an agricultural services provider specialising in business development, marketing and planning. (www.marketingedge.com.au) He is also the MD of “The Chia Company”, a business specialising in premium seed varieties (www.thechiaco.com.au) and judging by his experience, he is extremely successful at what he does!

We discussed his farm, his Management Businesses, the Agricultural Industry and of course the Nuffield Scholarships Trust and I learnt a great deal. He asked about the Welsh Meat Company and my background and has also promised to investigate potential job opportunities for me!

By late afternoon, I arrived at my hotel for a wonderful reunion with “the family” and had a chuckle at Uncle Mansel’s burnt and peeling nose from an excess of “Bondi Beach” syndrome! I am sure everyone at home understands when I state that both my dad and Uncle Mansel would not appear to be stereotypical “Bondi Beach” babes!!!

Friday night John Foss hosted us for a fabulous meal at a swanky, upmarket restaurant in Cottesloe Beach just outside the city centre. Communication was rife with Jenny and I catching up on Aussie gossip, Aunty Ros curious about all my worldly experiences so far plus John’s background and work, and Uncle Mansel showering agriculturally related questions across the table! It’s safe so say that by the end of the evening John had a fair indication of us “Raymond family” and our superb communication skills!!!

On Saturday morning at 9.45am, us four boarded a cruise boat for a “Wine Valley Cruise” – a seven hour trip of utter perfection and pleasure along the Swan River! After tea and coffee to line our stomachs, we were sipping cold dry white wine by 10.45am and were armed with newspapers, sitting on the deck in 40 degree heat! We disembarked after two hours and ate lunch in a lovely vineyard called “Chesters”, a family run winery, selling direct to consumers and producing 35,000 bottles per annum on 10 acres. A second winery in the afternoon was “Houghton”, a commercially driven 1000 acre winery exporting product across the world. At this second winery we were able to help ourselves to all the taster wines and this seemed mind-blowing in itself! After a final stop at a chocolate factory we boarded the boat for the journey back which passed in a slight hazy fashion!

After falling asleep for two hours in the hotel from sheer fatigue, (I blamed the heat on my tiredness as I was in denial how much wine I had drunk) we ate out. Uncle Mansel and Aunty Ros then made the very sensible decision to have an early night whilst Jenny and I hopped into a taxi to “Claremont” to meet up with John Foss and his acquaintances for further fun and frolics!

A club followed a bar and we were delighted to meet his friend “John” (another one!), a lovely, affluent young man who owned a racehorse that had won a big race that day! Jenny and I felt quite content in these people’s company and we had an excellent evening!

To conclude the weekend, on Sunday afternoon we took a train to “Freemantle” a very attractive working port city south-west of Perth and boasting good architecture and a pleasant artistic ambience. Established in 1829, it was originally the major city for Western Australia (WA) and many migrants first set foot in WA on Freemantle Wharf. The biggest attraction for tourists is Freemantle Prison the largest convict built structure in WA which was de-commissioned as a maximum-security prison in 1991. I was unable to see it for myself as I had a plane to catch, so after emotional “goodbyes” we parted company and I hopped on a plane back to Melbourne. I am very confident that I will return to WA again soon, either for work or just to explore and enjoy. I want to publicly thank Uncle Mansel and Aunty Ros and John Foss for their wonderful hospitality over the weekend, and Jenny for being one of my greatest, closest friends!

On arrival in Melbourne at 11.45pm Sunday night I hop-footed it across the city to the Charles Dickens pub for the very important Six Nations Rugby clash with Wales and Ireland. I was the sole Welsh supporter amongst a large Irish contingent but it was all great fun! Although Wales lost and failed to score a try, I felt they played well and I wasn’t too downhearted. After a couple of texts to Jonathan, John and Hywel I was back at the hostel and in bed by 4.30am! At this point my mobile started ringing endlessly and I had to put it on silent so as not to wake my fellow room mates! I had 17 missed calls when I woke up this morning so therefore I apologise to any of you that wanted a drunken chat with me but I was SLEEPING!

Hope everyone is well. Jonathan - that has to be the funniest email you have ever sent me re your “howler of a day in Cardiff” so thanks very much!!

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12 February 2007: Victoria Market Research & Employment Prospects.

Following my successful “consumer research” at the Crown Casino Complex a couple of weeks ago, I decided to undertake this delightful and rewarding process yet again! So last Saturday afternoon after a leisurely lunch, I headed for the Melbourne Victoria Market, a hub of frenzied retail activity in the heart of the city.

Victoria Market was opened in 1878 and is seen as an historical landmark, serving over 200,000 shoppers per week in an area of about 7 hectares. Over 1,000 traders sell everything from hardware, clothes and souvenirs, to exotic fruit, vegetables and a range of gourmet food which include both imported and locally produced product ranges.

Where as all new modern shopping centres have air conditioning systems and escalators, this place has preserved its history and has various open sided sheds, a large Meat and Fish Hall and a Dairy Hall and the atmosphere is very market orientated.

After a quick jaunt around the clothing and hardware stalls, (I never was into retail therapy and my mum can vouch for this!) I headed for the two halls where I was eager to assess the levels of marketing and branding creativity by traders. The Dairy Hall featured delicatessens, bakeries, poultry stalls and confectionaries as well as dairy produce and I was suitably impressed. It was packed with shoppers on a Saturday afternoon adventure and the atmosphere was electric.

The stalls mostly had predictable names such as “The Victoria Market Deli, The Pasta Shop and Melbourne Confectionary”. There were a few stalls with European influence such as “The Polish Food Shop, The French Deli and The Italian Olive Store”. From a local produce perspective there were stalls with names of areas around the state of Victoria such as “King Island Dairy and Phillip Island Dairy”. The two most impressive and inventive stall names were “Curds and Whey” and “Epicurean” which I thought were both lovely and original. The traders were helpful, very pleasant and had depth of knowledge on their produce range and traceability. Strong brands were evident, especially in the cheese, ham, and salami ranges and the use of colour and style within various brands were bold and concise.

My prediction for the red meat stalls turned out to be quite accurate and I ended up feeling utter disappointment and frustration inside the Meat Hall!! There must have been twenty red meat stalls and not one of them had a strong brand image or logo! One stall was called “Charlie’s Butchery”, another was “The Meat Shop” and a third was called “Melbourne Meats”. I counted four stalls that didn’t have any name at all, just the number of the stall on the back wall and little else! Hardly any stalls had pictures or photographs and there was a total absence of “point of sale” material. I failed to find any detail on the meat in relation to production, processing or traceability and I only found 1 butcher’s business card on display in the entire place!

Instead, the key characteristic was “price” with each trader trying to enhance their sales by offering “buy one get on free” and generally slashing prices to crazy levels. The traders were vocal too and many were barking their special offers to any customer willing to hover long enough to listen. It was certainly a hyperactive environment and reminded me of the craziness at the Jian Nan Open Fruit and Vegetable Market in Guangzhou, China whilst I was there in June 2006 (many of you fellow Nuffield Scholars will remember this crazy place!)

Now, before you all jump down my throat, I am the first to recognise that Victoria Market is a “market” type environment with traders, plus emphasis on low prices, bartering and rapid activity for sales. Nevertheless, I fail to understand why none of these traders are putting emphasis on branding and marketing in a more professional manner as this would surely offer a competitive advantage? To be able to offer full traceability, strong branding and an array of point of sale material would enhance the premium value and increase a trader’s margin. All consumers are partial to some “point of difference” and are increasingly willing to spend more of their disposable income on food products. This is especially true of a random consumer in Victoria Market on a leisurely Saturday afternoon jaunt. I do continue to feel frustrated that meat (and especially red meat) appears to often be unable to successfully brand or add-value like other agricultural products do.

After all this culture, I had a long wait on Saturday evening for the second Welsh match of the 6-Nations Rugby tournament against Scotland. And boy, do I now wish I had just gone to bed at a normal hour instead of wandering home at 4.30am inebriated and penniless!! I think the less said about the Welsh performance the better but I am sure that all you Scots reading this (Rob Parker in particular) are revelling in it! As a patient and optimistic Welsh rugby supporter, I am still hopeful for some dramatic improvement before we play France in two weeks time. Bad luck to the Irish too!

Also last week, I met with two men from agricultural businesses who I am hoping can assist me with work opportunities. The first was a guy called David Reid from Agricultural Appointments and he is the Chief Executive of this Agricultural Recruitment Firm. He was optimistic about my prospects but spent most of our meeting firing questions at me about the farm at home and in particular the scale, the sectors and the profitability post CAP-Reform! Some of these Aussie’s really are a nosy bunch you know!

The second meeting was with a very astute, intelligent guy called Andrew McConville, a Director at the Baldwin Boyle Group Ltd. He specialises in business development, planning, marketing, PR and promotion. He has a team of seven in his Melbourne office and although he was impressed with my resume and said I would be an ideal candidate with my experience, he is not currently recruiting staff – this was deeply distressing to hear!!! He did however give me a range of contacts, the most interesting being the Inter Agri Group from South Melbourne. This group specialises in the production and processing of branded meat products, and exports extensively across the world. I am in the process of contacting them to interview in relation to my Nuffield Study as well as seek possible employment opportunities.

In the meantime, I leave Melbourne tomorrow on another adventure across this massive barren land! On Tuesday I am meeting a Nuffield Scholar (year 1987) from Keith, South Australia called Brendon Smart. Brendon has a large farming operation and is looking for an individual (me I think!) to create a business plan. He wants to position and direct market his own product range and this sounds similar to the product and brand development I was doing at the Welsh Meat Company. From there, I head back to Sydney by next weekend and into the magnetism of my dear cousin Jenny, plus Sarah, Rob and Louise once again! I also have a meeting with a PR and Communications agric-business called Cox Inall who have requested I meet them as they could also have work opportunities for me. This meeting request also means that I get a few more days at Bondi Beach to soak up the sun and even try some surfing! My wonderful cousin Richard from Nyon, Switzerland emailed me and appeared concerned that I hadn’t been surfing as apparently it is a “must” when in Australia! I shall let you know how I get on Richard and whether I turn into a total “surfin dude”!!

I hope everyone is well back in the UK. I hope that the snow has melted, the Pembrokeshire Royal Welsh Show funds are increasing, Celtic Pride’s profits are soaring, Gran is getting better, and everyone’s social activities are plentiful and pleasurable! Best Wishes to all,

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19 February 2007: South Australia, Valentines Day, Advertising and Bondi (again)!

On Tuesday I left Melbourne, Victoria toward the state of South Australia. My Toyota car cruised out of the city and onto the “Great Ocean Road”, a twisting, yet fascinating stretch of road along the south coast of Victoria from Torquay to Warrnambool. Apart from being overwhelmed by scenery (which repeatedly resulted in my near collision with numerous crash barriers!) I was amazed by the names of towns stolen from the UK! I passed Torquay, Anglesea (they missed out the “Y” though!), Bridgewater and Dartmoor! This trip enabled me to see the famous “Twelve Apostles” famous stack rocks in Victoria. Although they were impressive, they reminded me of Stack Rocks in Pembrokeshire – there were just more of them!

My destination on Tuesday evening was the home of Brendon Smart a Nuffield Scholar from 1990 who has just completed his term as Nuffield Australia Chairman. A perceptive, astute guy, and a farmer from Keith, South Australia, I enjoyed the hospitality of he, and his lovely wife Robin for the evening.

Brendon, in partnership with his family, farm 8000 hectares on a mixed enterprise of Barley, Oats, Beans, Finished Beef, Marino Sheep and he is also the largest producer of Lucerne (but I prefer to say Alfalfa!) seed in Australia. He also farms 1200 hectares of vineyard at Victor Harbour, South of Adelaide under the branding of “Peeralilla Hill” wine so he is certainly a very busy man! He has three sons, one of whom was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship this year and who has just embarked on his travels. During the evening we discussed Australian Agriculture and also the Nuffield Trust, and it’s safe to say that the differences between the UK and Australia Nuffield Trust structures always results in a healthy and interesting discussion in which I thrive!!

Brendon had also requested meeting me after receiving my resume from Jim Gelch, Nuffield CEO Australia. Firstly, Brendon is close friends with my referee and Principal of Harper Adams Agricultural College Dr Wynn Jones so this ignited his interest! Secondly, my understanding of marketing, brand development and links through the supply chain in Wales is synonymous with his vision to add-value to his own primary produce, especially in meat so he wanted to discuss this further.

We had good dialogue and on Wednesday, I also got to meet Travis Munday, Procurement and Marketing Manager for “Dalriada” a slaughtering and processing facility based in Keith. This business currently slaughters 250 cattle and 500 lambs per week and they also launched a premium brand “Terrarosa” two years ago. They have had partial success launching this premium range of beef into the foodservice sector and also work in conjunction with a large independent retailer in Adelaide. I learnt a lot and this meeting also assisted with my Nuffield Study which was handy!!

On Wednesday afternoon I was shown around the “Smart Empire” which was very impressive. He has a Board of Directors in place for the major decision making processes and they meet quarterly to discuss the business plan and future vision. Some Directors have no direct contact with the farm which Brendon sees as beneficial. He has 5 full time members of staff and each staff member has their own farm business plan outlining the responsibilities given to them. This avoids confusion, gives a direction and offers each staff member the chance to decision-make, which results in personal satisfaction and trustworthiness.

Although the drought has had a negative affect on land across Australia, Brendon owns land in an area where there is surplus underground water (up to 100 metres of water to be exact!). He showed me a range of his irrigation systems including the pivot system, flood irrigation system and an automatic flow system and I was amazed by how little water is being wasted as well as the range of systems!!! His Alfalfa enterprise is his pride and joy and he can produce this seed at an extremely low cost and gain margins of well over 100%. He uses the alfalfa by-product to feed his sheep and cattle which is beneficial for its fairly high protein content and it mixes well with grains to provide a good DLWG and finish. He supplies Oats on contract to the food-chain which gives him a healthy return and his Wheat crop this year was still between 4-5 tonne per hectare (even after severe drought) which is quite high for Australia!

I left Brendon on Wednesday afternoon to start travelling the long, 1400km distance from South Australia to Sydney. On Wednesday night I got to Tooleybuc, a tiny town on the banks of the Murray River and stayed at a motel boasting “the cheapest motel in town” and it was!!! $60 got me a lovely en-suite room with a fridge for my “Brut” which I had bought myself to celebrate Valentines Day in style!!! Mark my words dear friends and family, this girl doesn’t need red roses or candlelit dinners! I celebrate with my best friend in the world – a bloody good bottle of plonk!!!! They are totally refreshing, don’t answer back, help me to relax and also feel utterly content with the world! And I ask myself – what more could a Welsh nutcase like me need?!!!

Whilst endlessly driving on Thursday I started thinking about advertising space. I was thinking about how every empty space of road-side in the US and South America seemed to have enormous billboards advertising everything from “Condoms to Go” to “Prepare to Die” (this was a Life Insurance Company by the way!) Australia has their fair share of them too, even as I drove along the skirts of the outback which got me thinking deeper into this subject.

General advertising is everywhere. TV, billboards, the internet, the petrol pump nozzle, phone boxes (for a night with an asylum girl!), taxis, mailshot, bus shelters, public toilet doors, the underground, the cinema and the list goes on. It seems to me that advertisers have bought up every single bit of space that the world has to offer to promote their array of products. I am still baffled to whether this marketing is the most beneficial method of sales promotion and my guess is that it must be. Jacobs Creek Australian Wine has the largest market share in the UK and why?? Because it advertised itself at the beginning, middle and end of every “Friends” episode on UK Channel 4 for three years that’s why! Why is HSBC Bank so global? Because it advertises itself on every inch of wall in every international airport in the world, and I should know as I have been to most of them in the past year!

Advertising agencies must be making profits synonymous with banking and the oil companies as a result of advertising space. Next time you are walking or driving in a public area just take a moment to see it all yourself as it’s truly mind-boggling! And if you are in a remote spot just look around you – chances are you will find a bench (as with the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path) where a plaque advertises a deceased person who once “liked to sit there”!

And so I drove calmly back into Sydney on Friday morning, and to the Budget Car Hire centre in Kings Cross which was challenging but fun! I met Jenny on her lunch break in the city, we caught up for an hour and I took the bus to Bondi Beach and to the flat of Jenny, Louise (surname - Francis), Rob and Sarah. It was to be an interesting “housing experience” because although this flat had two bedrooms and four beds (for the four permanent residents!) also staying was Jenny’s friend Rakki and Rakki’s cousin Misha, Louise’s Sister Carolyn who was visiting for two weeks and me!! In addition to this, I had a text from fellow UK Nuffield Scholar and friend Louise Young who had landed in Sydney so eventually there was to be NINE of us in a tiny flat at Bondi Beach!!

On Saturday morning, Louise (Young) arrived at Bondi and as we hadn’t seen each other since a Cheshire Ball in August 2006, we went for a long walk along the coast to “catch up” on endless gossip! Louise is doing her scholarship topic on how to encourage younger agricultural people into leadership positions in the industry. She is currently an NFU Mutual Group Secretary in Cheshire where she thoroughly enjoys banter with a number of dairy farmers since she started that position in spring 2006. Before this she was NFU Mutual Group Secretary in Surrey where her parents also farm. We spent the afternoon lying on Bondi Beach discussing Nuffield and both her and my interview experiences and what we had learnt from people on our travels to-date.

Saturday night ended up being a shocking night out! Jenny, Sarah and Louise (Francis) are currently all reps for “Route 69”, a glorified “Bar Crawl” with transport thrown in which I will describe as “the mother of all shindigs”! Seventy of us “backpacker types” dressed up and trawled bars in the nearby coast town of Coogee, then Bondi Junction and the city, and ended up in the club “Empire” in Kings Cross. Wine followed Champagne and Shots and its safe to say a good night was had by all! My younger, yet much wiser cousin finally dragged me from the clutches of some poor Aussie-Sod (who’s name I don’t even recall!) and into a taxi home at 5.00am which, for a nutcase 30-year old like me, was quite commendable I thought!

Needless to say, Sunday was a total write-off with bodies everywhere and tea being served by the gallon instead of the cupful! Rakki, her cousin and Louise (Young) left on flights for Brisbane at lunch time and I could be seen waving them off from in the middle of Bondi Beach Road in my pyjamas – SUCH a good look for me on a Sunday morning!

Jenny and I made a conscious effort to be pro-active on Sunday afternoon and we went to “Icebergs”, a complex with a 50m swimming pool and sauna. We did 1000m each to work off the alcohol, which was followed by 30 minutes in a Sauna which was bliss!! On Sunday night we had a BBQ on the roof and we invited a bunch of Irish guys from a flat in the same building who have rapidly become good friends (and in some cases more!) of Jen, Sarah, Louise and Rob. It was a relaxed evening with limited alcohol and good conversation and a relatively early night as all four guys now work and Monday morning was looming! By now there were only 6 of us in the flat which ensured both Carolyn and I had a sofa each which massively improved our living conditions!

And now it’s Monday morning and I’m typing this sitting in their kitchen, and looking out the window with a view of Bondi Beach on another glorious day. The others are all at work, and Carolyn has gone to the beach as it is her last day here before she fly’s back home to London and into her job as a midwife. I have a meeting with a PR / Communications company later this afternoon which I am really looking forward to. Hope everyone is well and please keep in touch!

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26 February 2007: Bondi Beach, Current Affairs & Rugby!

My endless travelling and hectic lifestyle has finally caught up with me and last Monday morning I started feeling groggy and unwell. As a result, my past week has been quiet, relaxed, uneventful and absolute bliss! Instead of leaving Jenny, Rob, Louise and Sarah at Bondi on Tuesday as originally planned, I have stayed and enjoyed the creature comforts of their flat! This includes a sofa, TV and DVD and most importantly, kitchen facilities including a cooker, fridge and endless T-bags! Now, you may think that this sounds totally bizarre but believe me, when you have been away from a family home for four months, living constantly out of a suitcase and staying in an array of motels and backpacker hostels, it tends to take its toll on you!!

So, after packing all four of them off to work each morning, I have had the place to myself and have played “domestic goddess”! I have also been suffering a cold and sore throat which has meant little activity of any interest, apart from a good meeting with Cox Inall Communications in Sydney and 1 full day sunbathing on Bondi Beach!

This domestic lifestyle has also given me the chance to view daytime TV which has been sheer hell as it is even worse than in the UK! There is a greater selection of “American” shows including “Days of our Lives”, Oprah and Judge Judy, none of which I can tolerate for a single minute. We then have the classic Aussie dramas of Neighbours and Home and Away which I also loathe profusely. This leaves me with a small selection of British programmes including The Bill (which I had never watched before last week!) and Antiques Roadshow. I have also inevitably had “The News” for comfort, but this has the tendency to be so repetitive that I end up listening to the news stories in my head whilst asleep and experiencing strange dreams!

At this point I must turn to the world of Australian Current Affairs for the interest of my friends and family in the UK. Australia is a country with 20 million people. My belief is that Australians care about family, ownership of a house and car on a quarter acre block, a decent wage, good working conditions and the chance to either participate or obsess over sport. Considering the strong multicultural make-up in Australia, the stringent immigration laws here have had a minimal impact on social order, hence crime is generally negligible.

Therefore, it is unlikely that the major news story of the day will be a fatal stabbing, a terrorist bomb plot, a murder or gang rape. Last week, news stories included the ongoing $10 billion water plan to save the Murray-Darling River Basin, potential interest rate rises, an 18-year old girl who died of a drug overdose at a music festival, a visit by US Vice President Dick Cheney and continued squabbling between Labour and Liberal Party Ministers with the forthcoming Election later this year. But the biggest story by far was the Iraq War as a result of Tony Blair’s announcement to withdraw troops and bring them home to the UK over a phased period. Australian PM John Howard is under pressure to declare when his 550 troops are also likely to be withdrawn and this is proving to be a huge Election issue where it once didn’t seem to matter too much to voters.

The more trivial, lighter stories included the historic visit of the Queen Mary II and Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Liners to Sydney Harbour, the forthcoming Oscars, plus Sylvester Stallone’s visit to Australia for his new “Rocky” film premiere and his run-in with Customs for having banned substances in his luggage! Finally, if I hear one more press story on Anna Nicole Smith or Brittany Spears I swear I will go insane! These “American” girls have so much hype here that it beggars belief and anyway, who are these dippy people that are SO interested in all this celebrity tripe???

Returning to my Nuffield duties and on Monday afternoon last week I had a meeting with Lucy Broad, Director at Cox Inall Communications in the City. This is a company which specialises in media relations, corporate event planning and strategic management guidance for agricultural businesses. They currently have a number of projects in progress including a new initiative to enhance and develop production and marketing in the horticultural industry, a sheep genetics project in conjunction with Meat & Livestock Australia, the promotion of the National Australia Bank to farmers and also the development of “Fresh for Kids”, a schools health programme. Lucy was knowledgeable and interesting and we had an excellent discussion on branding which benefited me hugely with my Scholarship. She also offered additional leads to individuals who can potentially assist me, so our meeting was very worthwhile.

On Friday night I was invited to the “Route 69 Cruise” around Sydney Harbour and I was really excited by the prospect to have a sunset cruise with food, wine and merriment. It was particularly good because I hadn’t been on a boat in the Harbour and I also because (for all you Nuffield Scholars 2005-6) it was exactly 1 year since we all did the cruise in Amsterdam on our Nuffield Induction Week. I absolutely cannot believe it has been 1 year since that memorable and enjoyable event!

Anyhow, $60 dollars provided us participants with transport to Darling Harbour, the cruise with free food and drink, and entry into Empire club in Kings Cross afterwards. I was lucky to be escorted by Brendon Smith, (AKA a man I met a week ago!) an Editor at Fox Sports TV in the City and a decent, intelligent Australian who’s company was first-rate and knowledge of the city was educational being a true “Sydneysider”. Harbour views were fantastic and cruising under the bridge was very exciting! Louise and Jenny were very pro-active with the organising and supervision of the event as reps and the evening was successful with over 400 people on board!

Saturday passed leisurely with endless tea and enough newspapers to keep me occupied for most of the day! It was a very long wait for the next round of 6-Nations rugby matches but Sarah Rob and I arrived promptly in the central Sydney bar called “Cheers” at 11.00pm on Saturday night. The Scottish match started at 2am, England V Ireland was at 4.30am and Wales V France at 7.00am and when I was ordering our first round I realised with trepidation that it was going to be a very long night!!! Jenny and Louise joined us after their Route 69 work was complete and the five of us represented three of the six nations participating and had our flags to represent our patriotism! We were also joined by a number of other friends (mostly Irish) from Bondi and the atmosphere was truly electric! Brendon joined us after he finished work and I don’t know whether he was slightly overwhelmed by the general mania, especially when Ireland thrashed England and our large Irish crowd went crazy! The Welsh match was once again a hugely disappointing and I was fairly despondent by yet another defeat. I finally crawled into bed at 10.30am on Sunday morning and tiredness made the defeat seem shoddier and more inferior than ever!

It is now the beginning of another week here at Bondi and I am really looking forward to meeting Andrew Watson (Australian Nuffield Scholar) mid-week as he is once again coming to Sydney. Jenny and I are planning to join him for a meal and general reunion! I also plan to prepare more visits to additional Australian agricultural businesses in relation to my Nuffield Study. I want to complete my whole project in advance of my entry into the world of employment in Australian Agriculture! This is drawing ever nearer and looking more assured in the weeks ahead so watch this space everyone, as hopefully I will have a positive announcement to make soon!!!

In the meantime I am thoroughly enjoying the time I am spending with Sarah, Louise and Rob as they are genuine friends and I adore their company. As for Jenny, well our special friendship is invincible and I am truly delighted that we have been able to enhance our perpetual bond here in Australia. I don’t know how I will cope once she embarks on her journey back to the UK and into the world of Law in London as I will miss her dreadfully!

Finally, for Fintan, Stevie and Henry – congratulations on a superb Irish victory against the English! For David N – what was the outcome on the facial hair debate?! For Jonathan, Jane, Richard and Jess – have a wonderful skiing holiday in Chamonix and if I wasn’t in Australia I would be really jealous! And for Mum & Dad – enjoy the Annual NFU Conference and I am thinking of you both lots.

I have put some more photos on my website with captions this time so feel free to have a browse on www.bugbitten.com/nicolaray

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5 March 2007: A Quiet Week – but dominated by Sport!

Last Monday afternoon, after Jenny finished work we visited the Sydney Aquarium which boasts three “Oceanariums” in Darling Harbour. We saw sharks, stingrays and fish life in one, marine life including seals and penguins in the second and a mini Coral Reef in the third with a selection of bright and colourful tropical fish. This gave us an opportunity for quality “family time” and a good banter amongst the fish!

After all the indoor aquatic culture, we left to be bombarded by heavy rainfall, the type of rain that you would only normally witness on Snowdon Mountain in North Wales in winter! I felt this was highly inconsiderate as I didn’t have an umbrella and was not dressed in suitable attire. In fact, I possess no coat or suitable “autumn” clothing so I feel a retail trip imminent which fills me with dread as a unique “anti-shopper”!

With only my daily newspaper for cover, I then ran to meet Brendon who wanted to unveil some of his “Sydneysider” life and who took me to a rugby league match that he was participating in. Now, normally I would be keen to stand on the touchline shouting my encouragement and barking at the referee following questionable decisions! However, the rain dampened my eagerness and I spent most of my time in the car, but his team won and as a result he was happy. Brendon’s world is dominated by sport and music and (if I haven’t already said) he works as editor at Fox Sports. He is a great musician who plays an array of instruments including the guitar and keyboard, not by reading music but by following and playing it by ear. He resides in the region of Mortdale, in Sydney and has one sister (also called Nicola!) who is married and lives in Austria and one brother called Kieran.

By Wednesday Jenny and I had another reunion with Andrew Watson, fellow Nuffield Scholar who farms extensively in Armidale, New South Wales. Andrew frequently visits Sydney for agricultural meetings in his capacity as Director of Cotton Australia and of the NSW Irrigators Council. He and his friend Nick joined us in Bondi, we had a meal in a classy restaurant and I can confirm I had my first superb Australian prime fillet steak since I arrived here! Our conversation was diverse and it covered Australian Agriculture Versus EU Farm Subsidies, Aborigines, IT & Computer Software (Nick’s profession) and Politics! I think an enjoyable evening was had by all and I certainly enjoyed our reunion.

By the weekend there was nothing but “Sport” on my agenda yet again! Rob was participating in his first rugby union match for Lindfield, a regional Sydney team which he has been training with since he settled here. It seems strange to tell you guys in the northern hemisphere that the Australian winter rugby season is just starting! We girls travelled to “Dulwich Hill” by train on Saturday afternoon to watch him participate in a charity tournament which involved 16 teams thrashing it out in temperatures that exceeded 30 degrees! I didn’t envy him one bit but it was an entertaining afternoon nonetheless and Jenny, Louise and I were true loyal supporters!

Saturday night proved to be another memorable and enjoyable occasion, and full of more fun and frolics! I was invited by Brendon to the Telstra Olympic Stadium to a National Rugby League match between two teams called St George Dragons and South Sydney Rabbitohs. As with all sport here, NRL in Australia is immense. 15 teams from Australia (plus 1 team from New Zealand) participate, although the large majority of teams are from the state of New South Wales as this is where rugby league appears dominant.

Brendon is a devoted supporter of St George Dragons and even supplied me with a rugby league shirt for the occasion (which I was told in no uncertain terms that I could neither retain nor steal!). The atmosphere in the stadium was not unlike the Welsh passion on a 6-nations day and the chanting and singing was mesmerizing! Luckily, St George won with a late try and the celebrations were colossal which, as a Welsh rugby union supporter was a nice refreshing change! Following the match, bar followed bar, I met some of his friends plus a couple of random Australians! Then, back on the train we happened to meet a famous rugby league player called John Fifita, who played for St George in the 80’s and was affectionately known as “The King of Tonga”!

For those of you who want more information as to the history of the game, the shady dealings plus development can go to www.rl1908.com but I can confirm I am certainly getting an education!

In contrast from all the masculinity of rugby league, Jenny and the others went to “Mardi Gras” on Saturday night, a massive festival celebrating all things “Gay”! They stood on Oxford Street central Sydney, and watched the huge three hour parade of mixed sexual preferences and a great deal of amusing costumes and entertainment! I was relieved that I missed it if I am honest but I know they had a wonderful night out!

Following a typically relaxed Sunday with Brendon, watching Blackadder DVDs and being cultured on his home area, I arrived back at Bondi to another BBQ on the roof of the flat. It was a spectacular night because there was a full moon and in addition to this there was a remarkably long lightening storm which added to the ambience.

I have just been watching the news this morning (Monday) and the financial news was dominated by the performance of the two major supermarkets here in Australia, namely Woolworths and Coles. Coles is currently for sale and there are rumours that Tesco is exploring the possibility of purchasing them! There was also a lengthy debate about the price of milk. I learnt that Australian dairy farmers are currently receiving the lowest farm-gate price per litre in the world at 34 cents (that’s 13.6 pence). Yet, the supermarkets have increased the retail price by 90% since 1990. This just demonstrates that dairy farmers across the world are struggling with supermarket rivalry for market share and no dairy farmer appears spared.

I must admit that although last week was fairly subdued compared to the previous 19 weeks that I have been away from the UK, it’s been lovely to relax in my life as an ongoing unemployed “simple Welsh girlie”. This email has less substance than in previous weeks’ but I figure some of you may see this as a relief from the elongated rambling ones I am becoming famous for publishing! Within two weeks all this could change again as I proceed into work mode with oodles of new information to supply you all! This is an exciting if daunting prospect I must admit, but one that I hope I am ready to seize.

I am shortly looking forward to catching up with Christine Hope, a fellow UK Nuffield Scholar from Herefordshire who is currently touring across Australia. Her subject of “Motivational factors in starting rural businesses and the creation of an entrepreneurial attitude in the under 30s” is certainly an interesting one and far removed from my “quality beef, branding and marketing”! I am looking forward to receiving all her news when we have our big reunion!

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9 Mar 2007: Nuffield Autumn Conference – Port Lincoln, South Australia

After two internal flights from Sydney to Adelaide plus one time zone, I walked across the tarmac at Adelaide Airport to board a plane to Port Lincoln and literally bumped into Christine Hope, my fellow UK Nuffield Scholar amid the passengers! It was fantastic to see her again and as the only sole UK Nuffield representatives, we were very excited about the whole Australian Conference weekend ahead!

The Nuffield Autumn Conference varies its venue and this year was to be held at Port Lincoln. This town is situated at the Southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula, a triangular shaped area of South Australia which covers 55,000 sq km. It is a major agricultural region with 1,350 farms and the agricultural industry comprises of 85% of the regions economic activity. Aquaculture is also currently the fastest growing enterprise in this region. The coastline along the peninsula is spectacular and as a result this region is a popular tourist destination, especially for whale watching and fishing. This area also suffered one of the deadliest bushfires in twenty years in January 2005, claiming land, livestock, houses and even lives.

Port Lincoln is a prosperous, bustling town with a population of approximately 14,000. One interesting statistic is that Port Lincoln has more millionaires per capita than any other area in Australia! Founded by the UK explorer Matthew Finders, he named it after his home county of Lincolnshire. The first free settlers arrived in 1839 and since then it has grown to become the tuna-fish capital of Australia. Christine and I (among other scholars) were staying at the Royal Tasman Hotel in the centre of town with others at the nearby Hilton Hotel.

On arrival, Christine and I met with Andrew Broad and Tony Barker and enjoyed a quiet, preliminary drink at the local Yacht Club! An informal dinner was held that night and of the 12 Australian Scholars from the year 2006, 10 were in attendance so a big reunion was inevitable with lots of embracing and endless conversation! I also met Jim Gelch, Nuffield Australia CEO, David Brownhill, Nuffield Vice Chairman, and my new employer Brendon Smart again, and an array of additional Scholars, some of whom were awarded their Scholarships as far back as the 1960s! There must have been at least 80 present, made up of Scholars and their partners.

Thursday was our first official day and it was filled with an array of farm and agric-business visits. The first visit was to the farm of a fellow Nuffield Scholar Mark Modra (2004) a genuine, wonderful guy who farms mainly arable crops just outside Port Lincoln.

Our second visit was to Dutton Bay Woolshed, established in 1875 by Mr Price Maurice and situated near the coastline. A jetty was built for a “land-sea” link and in its peak over 20,000 sheep were shorn and up to 100,000 fleeces were baled and loaded for overseas markets. Since 1989, Craig Brown has slowly and passionately restored the woolshed and today it is a museum which features a wool press, shearing quarters and an assortment of old tools and agricultural implements. They have capitalised on tourism and now also offer accommodation to visitors.

Our last visit of the morning was to Coffin Bay Oyster Farm, run by a businessman called Lester Marshall. Coffin Bay has always been renowned for high-quality oysters but Lester has capitalised on this and branded his product range and now supplies 3-4 tonnes of Oysters to premium markets per week. This visit was particularly enjoyable for me as not only does he strongly believe in branding, adding-value and providing a traceable, quality supply of product, but we all also got to try some Oysters with lemon which were truly delicious – if a little inappropriate on an empty stomach!

After an enjoyable lunch at Coffin Bay Yacht Club we boarded the buses to Cummins Milling Company, one of very few original flourmills still operating in rural Australia. Established in 1930, flour has been produced for over 75 years with Wheat mainly sourced from throughout the Eyre Peninsula off local farms. The equipment is mostly “original” and there is a real historic feel about the place – plus very few belt guards or general evidence of Health and Safety precautions! They also built a stockfeed plant in the 1960s to for the purpose of utilising the flour by-product and a range of feeds are produced for local farmers and fishermen.

After a quick stop at a farm with a strong emphasis on immense, modern, mostly John Deere machinery (which didn’t exactly stimulate my interest!) our final presentation of the day was “Grain and Graze”, a program which invests in research to improve the profitability of mixed farms. This was held at a local community hall in a hamlet called Edillille. The research they do focuses on cropping, pastures, livestock and natural resources such as soil and water. They involve local farmers directly with local trials such as pasture management, improving soils and reducing erosion. The presentation focused on additional work they do to diversifying a farms’ enterprise mix – pasture versus cropping for example.

On Thursday night we had a dinner at the Hilton Hotel with our guest speaker Mr Brian Foster, the Presiding Manager of the Eyre Peninsula Natural Resources Management. Christine and I had been asked (as the sole UK Nuffield representatives) to also speak for ten minutes about ourselves, our background’s and our Nuffield study topics! It was a very difficult task for me with my character being so introvert, quiet and reserved but I think I got through it reasonably! (Actually it was very hard to only talk for 10 minutes!)

Friday was the official presentation day with six Scholars doing their Nuffield presentations following their study tours. (The other six 2006 scholars had presented last October). Our venue for this great occasion was the Boston Bay Winery, a setting with wonderful gardens and views overlooking the coast near Port Lincoln. We had an official luncheon with wine followed by each Scholar’s talk. Dave Fullwood was first and his subject was “Value-Adding Commodity Grain Products as he is an arable farmer from Western Australia. Second we had Caroline Brown who had focused on “Renewable Energy and Biodiesel” which was too complex a presentation for me to grasp! After a break we heard Anthony Brandsema, the largest tomato grower in Tasmania who had focused on “Controlled Environment Management of Tomatoes” followed by Andrew Watson, a cotton grower who had studied “Water use Efficiency in Irrigation”. Fifth was Leigh Vial, a rice and arable producer who had focused on “Aerobic Rice and whether it can work in Australia”. Finally, we had Garry Hannigan, our trusty outback Australian sheep producer who had been “Gaining an Understanding of the Global Market for Organic Lamb in Developed Countries”. All six presentations were different but very enjoyable and it was a wonderful afternoon.

By Saturday most of us were finding the educational days coupled with late sociable nights and lack of sleep very demanding and draining us of energy! In the morning the group walked to the Marine Science Centre, a research education and industry development centre for the aquaculture industry. Ross Haldane and Tony Bolton did presentations which focused on seafood product quality, adding-value, ecosystem services and biosecurity. We also got to witness a 25kg tuna fish being boned and cut and we all sampled fantastic raw tuna which was delicious.

After a leisurely steak sandwich lunch at a lovely marine restaurant, we boarded a boat to Boston Island, a 1000 hectare island owned by the Port Lincoln Mayor Mr Peter Davis. Peter is an eccentric, fascinating man farming 1500 sheep and encouraging tourism, although farming this island appears unsustainable long-term. After this visit, which involved sitting on flat trailers and being towed around the island, we took the boat to a tuna farm supplying fish to markets across Japan. The demand for tuna in Japan is at an all time high and prices that were once 60 cents per kg are now $60 per kg! This explains why there are so many millionaires in Port Lincoln!

Saturday night was a quiet affair with everyone doing their own thing. This was also the time that I said goodbye to Christine who was flying home before heading back to Gambia as part of her ongoing study tour. It was wonderful to spend time with her again and I enjoyed her company and found her a fantastic roommate. Christine – I will see you at the Conference in November and good luck! X.

I was also devastated not to find a single TV showing the concluding 6-nations rugby matches so I requested score updates from mum, Jonathan, John and Hywel and I must thank each and every one of them for keeping me updated with texts! I was also relieved that Wales finally won a game and even better, beat the English at Cardiff!

The event drew to a close on Sunday morning and after long goodbyes many of us headed to the airport and I got to experience another new episode in this big trip that I continue to call “educational”! I was headed with Brendon and Robyn to their second home at Victor Harbour, a town south of Adelaide in South Australia. But this was to be no ordinary trip because Brendon is a pilot who owns his own plane! So there I was, at 6000 feet, looking out of the front of the plane with flight controls in front of me and a headset, listening to all the control centres and other pilots talking to each other in the sky! It was totally surreal, especially when Robyn handed me a chicken sandwich for lunch and we sat there flying and eating in unison!

On Sunday evening, on arrival at Victor Harbour, we were joined by Ryan, Brendon and Robyn’s youngest son for dinner at a pizza restaurant. Ryan is the manager for a 150 acre vineyard business as part of the “Smart Group” which is 5 km outside Victor Harbour. He is currently harvesting Cabernet Sauvignon and due to drought, he is only getting 2.5 tonne per acre instead of 5 tonne, however the quality is looking promising and he seemed optimistic about the overall value of the grapes.

And now it’s Monday again and I am back at Brendon’s farm near the town of Keith which is 2 1/2 hours north of Victor Harbour and east of Adelaide. I officially start work for Brendon two weeks’’ today – Monday 2nd April. In the meantime I have been given a vehicle, and tomorrow I leave here to travel around this State to try and integrate myself as I will be based here for the next few months.

AH!!!!!!
I have just had a shock! I am currently sitting in a farmhouse on the estate, which is to be my home for the next two months, and I have just had another amazing new experience!!! Whilst sitting in the living room with TV on and typing furiously on my laptop, a bloody kangaroo just bounced up to the open door and is starring at me! Now..... Brendon said that there was a pet kangaroo called “Basil” in the vicinity so I can only assume this him as he has a yellow collar! It seems hilarious that my “pet” for the foreseeable future isn’t going to be a cat or dog but a random 5 ft kangaroo! Help!

Finally, I cannot tell you all how wonderful it is to finally soon have a home with the same bed, a wardrobe for my clothes, plus a kitchen and living room. Stability is going to be heavenly after travelling solidly for five months and I am also wholeheartedly looking forward to the work challenge ahead and intend to give it my very best shot.

Best wishes everyone, and to all you Australian Nuffield Scholars plus Christine – thank you SO very much for your friendship, continued support and help and I hope to see you all again very soon.

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13 Mar 2007: My new job.

I finally depart from Bondi Beach tomorrow for “Port Lincoln” South Australia, and the Nuffield Australia Autumn Farming Conference which is a three-day event of speeches, farm visits and reunions with like-minded Australian Nuffield Scholars! I am also meeting up with fellow UK Nuffield Scholar Christine Hope who is also going to be in attendance and I will also be sharing a room with her. I have already pre-warned her that she is not allowed to keep me awake with her endless late night partying and frolicking!!!!! I will send a full report on the Conference next week.

This is also the moment that I must say goodbye to Jenny and I am dreading it, but we have arranged to have Easter weekend together traveling the Great Ocean Road.

FINALLY I GUESS I CAN NOW CONFIRM THAT I start work from next week!!!!!!!! I am to be employed by “The Smart Group” and my employer will be Mr. Brendon Smart. I will be based in South Australia and am to establish and manage a new Marketing Company to brand, add-value and direct market his beef and lamb products. Further agricultural commodities could be included into the company’s portfolio at a later date.

The overall aim is to offer value and benefits to all businesses throughout this supply chain with emphasis on Brendon as primary producer. The market focus will be predominantly foodservice and independent retail businesses throughout South Australia.

The duration of the position is largely dependent to the outcome of extensive market research which I will be undertaking in this initial period. This research will determine whether this company is viable in the long-term and sets the future outlook, but at present my initial contract is set at 3 months.

I am hugely excited by this challenge and meet Brendon tomorrow at Port Lincoln to finalize the terms and conditions. Brendon is also a Nuffield Scholar and outgoing Chairman of Nuffield Australia. Because I have not yet finalized my terms and conditions, I have not included everyone on this email but I will email again next week. In the meantime, I am about to hop on a plane to South Australia and a massive and exciting challenge and adventure ahead!

FOR Mum and Aunty Rosemary – thank you for your emails about the latest RWAS fundraiser and I received an abundance of excellent photos from Rachel so I have seen all the styles and outfits! (And Claire you looked superb as a model!)

John – I am sorry about my failure to attend the festival of 1000 Male Welsh Voices at the Albert Hall on Saturday night but I will be thinking of you all and wishing I was there I am sure!

Jonathan – Cash would be great ASAP please!

Hywel – we need a messenger chat soon as I have SO much to tell you!

Tony & Watson – I have so much to tell you both too and am excited about seeing you two!

FINALLY, for Mum and Dad, I want to publicly and openly thank you from the bottom of my heart for being SO supportive and hugely wonderful parents to me. I miss you heaps and heaps!

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