Frank & Diane

Finally, in the evening of April 11, Uncle Frank and Aunty Diane arrived in Melbourne for a 5-day visit. I'd been trying to get them over for a few years and they were keen but in the end it was the chat cousin Milton and I had during the Christmas hols followed by Milton fronting up to them with tickets that got them on the plane. On the morning of day 1 Aunty Diane was keen to take the dogs to the park and walk the neighbourhood to get the feel of the place. Even though wet weather had been predicted for their whole stay it didn't eventuate and we were able to be outside most of the time. Margaret (nee Woodhouse), my 1st cousin and Uncle Frank's niece, joined us for lunch and then on to an MSO matinee concert where we were joined by her son, Brian and his kids, Jaidon and Maddison, at interval after their sporting commitments. They came to my dressing room afterwards and I gave them a quick tour of the backstage facilities at Hamer Hall.

Aunty Diane had heard about the glass box that glides out of the Eureka Tower, Melbourne's tallest building, at the 90th floor observation deck level (with people in it) and was mad keen to try it so, since we were in the area, we thought we'd give it a go after the concert. We wandered through some of Southbank to get to Eureka then left Margaret and Maddison to their own devices (too chicken) while the rest of us made the trip skyward. It was an incredible view of the city. The glass box starts inside the building then once you're inside, it slowly moves right out of the building so you're suspended 90 floors up. At first the glass is opaque and you can't see out but when the box is right outside, the glass magically and suddenly clears - including the floor - and you can look directly down to the street below through your feet!

After our thrills we joined the rest of the Watt gang (except Jessye who had a prearranged party to attend) back home for roast chicken and Margaret's yummy beef curry. The kids played Wii and Brian checked out some of my photo and document archive.


Sunday is a good market day in Melbourne so even though we were getting a late start after a leisurely breakfast and a long walk with the dogs, I thought it would be good to show our guests around Queen Vic market. They were suitably impressed, especially with the deli department which is my favourite part too. Uncle Frank had a shopping list one item long, a pair of slip-on brown shoes. He tried some on at the market but in the end found the perfect Italian ones later for a great price, especially after Aunty Diane haggled another $20 off the sale price with some hilarious sob story about being Kiwis. Peter took the girls home and I took F and D on the tram to Swanston St to pick up some postcards and then on to the ABC where I work most days. The occasion was a concert by Corpus Medicorum, an orchestra made up of doctors and medical students, some of whom I know from the Mt Buller chamber music school. They were performing in the Iwaki Auditoroum which is the MSO's rehearsal room on the ABC Centre. Just across the road is the almost finished new Recital Hall which Aunty Diane took a fancy to.

F and D fell in love with the trams and while I was at work on Monday morning, they were off crisscrossing the city to their hearts' content by tram. We reconvened at home for lunch with Russell and Barb. This was the first time the two couples had met and after all Russell's work on unearthing the Woodhouse connections, a thick folder-full of research, it felt quite momentous. Uncle Frank pored over the picture of Russell's grandma, the aunt he had never known. It was a lovely relaxed time together.

On Tuesday Margaret took the day off work to join Uncle Frank, Aunty Diane, Russell and me for an excursion to Williamstown by boat. We were lucky the weather held beautifully for us. Naturally, we took the tram into the city and picked up our Williamstown ferry at Southbank. Our skipper gave us interesting commentary along the way and I found the bridges quite stunning from underneath.

Feeling peckish on arrival, we headed immediately for the first fish and chip shop which must do a roaring trade. There's nothing quite like having fish and chips out of paper by the sea. The chip portions were enormous so we made friends with scores of pigeons. After a wander around the preserved main street of town and a coffee and hot chocolate stop at a place which had a page-long hot chocolate menu, we boarded our trusty vessel for the return trip.

There's plenty for tourists to see in the small patch of the city between Southbank and our tram stop, most of which we either don't pass or just whizz past normally so it was nice to cruise along with visitors and have a closer look. We got home and took in a beautiful sunset from the balcony. Even the balcony got much more appreciation than usual with Uncle Frank and Aunty Diane making the most of the morning sun having breakfast and reading the paper out there.

We had a simple last supper of sausages and salad and then Aunty Diane and Uncle Frank got their stuff ready for departure the next afternoon. I was working the next day and just saw them briefly in the city before handing them over to Peter who took them to the airport. Of course they didn't waste a minute and were on the tram in the morning to catch a few last sites in town such as the Aquarium, the Cathedral and the Art Gallery at Federation Square which specialises in modern Australian art. Never a dull moment with our energetic Christchurch pair!