Yesterday we went to St George’s Cathedral at 5.00 to hear a special summer school choir performing at Evensong. Before the service, I noticed that the modern stained glass windows were throwing coloured light onto the walls and ironwork.

Although it was quite a warm day it wasn’t too bad in the church. We have been there after a day of 40 degrees and it can be horrible, but there was a slight cool breeze in the city. We were easily able to park in Hay Street near to the walkway through to the cathedral. The square now has picnic tables set up and it is a very attractive area.

The music was lovely and the service lasted just one hour, as it should. There was a sermon (groan), but it was short and really just helped with some background to the bible readings. We were heading up to Kings Park to go to the Moonlight Cinema afterwards and didn’t have time to stay for supper.

We went to a Subway on the way back to the car to pick up a foot long sub to eat at the cinema. I received an email saying that there would be no hot food at the venue, but in fact, there was simple food being served.

Eversley had gathered a few of us there to celebrate her birthday and see the film ‘Sweet Country’. We had our low chairs and brought along some chocolate to share. Other people also brought some food. The movie was very serious, but well done and I felt made a worthy contribution to a birthday celebration. We had an Aboriginal elder with us, but he left quickly at the end before we had a chance to ask him what he thought. It was less gruelling for us to watch than we had feared, but we didn’t know how it would be for him.

This morning we woke a bit late to go for a swim, so decided to start on cleaning the outside of the Winnie. We did two sides in the morning and the other two this evening after Matt arrived. He was quite happy to watch, and stayed outside with Stephen whilst I finished off preparing our meal. We had our first fast slow cooker meal this evening, very tasty as usual. I made the mistake of not taking the cooker when we went away. It is quite bulky and I thought of it a being a short trip, and not really necessary. I forgot that it really makes cooking very easy and doesn’t result in splatter in the kitchen. Note to self: always take it with us, even if for a few days.

We did our first shopping today as well, Monday seems to be a good day for shopping with very well stocked shelves. We were even able to get Matt’s Despicable Me Mousse.

When we were planning the three weeks away, with my wish to visit Esperance, the Stirlings and the Porongerups, I was a bit worried that it would feel rushed and that we might not get to go everywhere. In fact, we had time to stay and enjoy places we were visiting and even go to Denmark for three nights. The three weeks holiday felt like quite a long time.

Of course, I love being away from the city, but Stephen always likes to get back to all of his city life activities. He always seems to have so much energy, as for example, going to church before going to the movie last night, packing things in. We were far more relaxed when we were away. Ie was glad to get back for the wedding, to meet up with Marie and Geoff, and to celebrate Eversley’s birthday. Seeing Matt again feels really good.

I also enjoy our neighbourhood. If we have to live in the city, this is a good place to be. The only thing that would make it better would be to have our very own driveway so that we could keep the Winnie parked at home. Our neighbours are still away at the moment and it is so convenient to have it parked outside our house where we can get things done.

We have finished off the evening with fruit and icecream, peppermint teas and chocolate.