A 3-hour west-to-east flight and we land in South Australia to be greeted by Rob (complete with bouffant hairdo), Moni (complete with 8 ¾ month baby bump), Jack and Harry who we haven’t seen since January, after having spent last New Year’s eve with them in Carrackalinga. Harry was a bouncing baby of 12 months old last time we saw him and looks very different now as walking 2 year old and Jack’s as happy as ever to see his favourite god-mother (eat your heart out Nicky!).
I’ve booked a week’s accommodation at Glenelg in the Glenelg Lake Apartments via the net, which were all I could find due to this being just one week before Christmas. As soon as we arrive, we discover exactly why this apartment was still available. Let’s just say it wasn’t good and leave it at that, shall we? We dump our bags and head straight off to Rob and Moni’s house in Linden Park, east of the City. Apparently it’s the posh part of Adelaide. They’re clearly trying to keep up with their posh English friends. Will and I spend a leisurely afternoon cracking open Rob’s wine and the kids are delighted to have not only Jack and Harry’s toys to play with but also a playroom the size of a garage, set in the garden, in which to do it. We return to Glenelg late enough to just plop the kids in bed and get up early enough to head back to Rob and Moni’s for a BBQ lunch and another attack on Rob’s wine. I was so depressed by the thought of going back to our apartment that I took to walking the streets that night (remember that I am Head of Research and my job sometimes involves dangerous undercover work) looking for a new place to stay whilst Will got the kids to bed. I returned with several options, most of them twice the price and none of them very nice. Undeterred, I insisted we pack up in the morning and leave, whereupon I would find somewhere else (thanks to my fabulous newfound friend www.wotif.com). The fist apartment was AU$ 567 for a week, the new one was AU$ 1,400 per week. The first was a shit-hole, the second was abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous. One balcony overlooked the marina, the other overlooked the beach and the fantastic sunsets each evening. We were now able to return the favour and have the Tolly’s over for dinner. Yay, we’re back to being their posh friends again. We pass the next couple of days by taking the kids up to Cuddly Creek for a ’roo/koala fest, going to the beach, taking the tram into town, drinking wine, cooking and enjoying the sunsets. A early morning phone call signals the arrival of Nicky, Andy and Cooper who have just arrived in Adelaide following a 13 hour drive through the night from Sydney.
They head straight over to our lush pad and, as Nicky and I park the car, Andy and Cooper get stuck in the lift, thanks in no small part to Cooper pushing the Stop button. Just what they need after a 13 hour drive. Fortunately, they were stuck just inches from our floor and we could open the door a few millimetres; just enough for us to taunt them with talk of how thirsty they must be and did they need the toilet!
We haven’t had an impromptu party in the 4 months since we left, so tonight seems like as good an excuse as any. Somehow, once Rob, Moni, Nicky and Andy have gone home, we end up drinking with Nicky’s dad, Jim and his brother David til the early hours which leaves me, in my other job as Chief Packer, with a huge clear up to do before vacating the apartment by 10am.
21 December, Moni leaves her house for hospital at 7.30am and we move in at 11am. Ah, bliss. Being in a house (not to mention that outdoor playroom) is such a luxury. Baby Emily Isabelle Tolladay is born that morning and we celebrate when Rob comes home by cracking open some of our wine, for a change.
Moni’s back home Christmas eve but not up for drinks in the park with the Adelaide posse, including Tommy, Kirsty and Arki in from Singapore. The session continues at home when Scotty comes over and, as the boys try out his drinking game of downing 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes, I put my sensible hat on and stagger off to bed at midnight.
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