Natalie Down Under

2004-06-04T03:51:00.000+10:00

Liz the cleaner? I ask you.

2003-08-02T09:40:00.000+10:00

Turns out total weight of "stuff" shipped home was 150kg!!! That doesn't include jim and me by the way.

Now in Singapore airport featuring
1. Orchid gardens for original photos the reprise
2. Toilets which flush automatically when you stand up.
3. SHOWERS! hurrah.
4. Jim spending a million years putting subtle changes in the website for the amusement of Dermot the dog and Rutter, the SARS vector. Nice computers.

SO excited about going home forgot to be upset about leaving Australia - I'm sure it will be a delayed grief reaction when the realisation of TimTam loss, "Too easy"'s and total absence of dooners really hits me. Cannot wait to see the assorted generations of Whittons/ Manson-Whittons/ Docherty-Whittons/ Massey-Whittons. I'm going to give them all a big snog (and SARS probably).

Will also make 'soon' appointments to see the Stuart/ Ros/ Suzy/ Matt+Vicky/Sally-Anne/ Stephen/ and y'all as soon as I get my rota (Wednsday) so get ready.....

LOTS of love
natalie
xxxxx

2003-07-31T14:18:00.000+10:00

Shipped 51kg of assorted didgeridoo based souvineers home. Bought 2 new suitcases. Have filled both (>50kg worth I suspect). Jim is getting a bit twitchy about something called a baggage allowance - never heard of it myself.
Picked up the 18 films of pictures from our Kakadu/ Darwin/ Alice/ Uluru/ Sydney adventure - the girl in the shop phoned us to tell us they were ready 5hours early because the pictures were so good. Expect to be thoroughly bored by the whole thing if I see you in the next week or three.
Getting my mobile reconnected in 52 hours- hurrah!

lol
noo
xxxxxxx

2003-07-30T19:54:00.000+10:00

Sold my poor little bike (sob!), threw away the suncream (hurrah!), faced the back of the freezer (brrrr...).

2003-07-30T09:02:00.000+10:00

Back in sunny Southport! Had a splendid 2 hours in Sydney visiting all our old haunts, taking in an opera, going on the ferry etc. Now frantic packing.
Jim and I both have SARS - Tom Rutter gave it to us. On descending in the plane into Brisbane we became completely deaf due to mucous redistribution. Lovely peace and quiet has enhanced our communication no end.
Now is the time to tell you that the countdown clock is set to midnight on your computers time. Thus you should know we arrive at 15.00 GMT on Saturday. Hurrah!

2003-07-28T17:20:00.000+10:00

At last we went SHOPPING! I bought lots of art. We might need a new suitcase. Last full day of holiday, then back to Southport to scrape 6 months of accumulated diet coke residue out of the carpet.
Have just had an email from an Aussie doc who's gone to England. She's appaled by the NHS - which must be worse than I remember. Suddenly a bit scared of starting work at home again - what? you mean I have to work more than 40hours a week??
Off to swear a bit more on the chatroom now.

nataliexxxx

2003-07-27T18:14:00.000+10:00

Sorry about the delay - did you miss me? After another day in Darwin we flew to Alice Springs and got our campervan.
Bizzarely Jim has taken to the life of campervanning like a duck to water, only with more sleeping and more use of BBQ facilities. We are getting in touch with our inner retiree by driving sedately along the roads with queues of traffic behind us, only to speed up on the straight bits. Joy.
Met the Rutter who has changed colour since we last saw him. Then to Ayres rock which is hugely impressive - partly in the sense that there is buggerall else near it. The whole shades of red sunset thing was slightly lost on me (being red-green colourblind). Out of respect to the traditional owners (and despite our newfound enthusiasm for ascending vertical things) we decided not to climb it but instead to do the base walk - 10km. Fortunately Rutter has a handheld GPS because I'm sure we'd never have navigated around the rock along the well signed path by keeping the rock on our right. Needless to say Jim and Tom spent the whole time looking at the GPS - apparently our topspeed was 15.4km/h (they ran for a bit to up that) and our total trip time 2hrs54mins.
Now back in the Alice for another few days of shopping before HOME in six days to see the Tom and the Tess and the rest. Can't wait.

See y'all soon!

2003-07-23T22:54:00.000+10:00

Another splendid day of art and crocs and general spectacularity.
We made lots of friends - an 84 year old backpacker couple - expect to see their picture on pictures soon (they took one of us too - for their website I presume?).
Jim's new best mate is a 10year old Scottish boy called Alastair. They played game boy for over 2 hours together and both looked very happy. Alastair panned Jim completely which, according to Jim, is because 10year olds have smaller fingers.
Back in Darwin and tomorrow flying to Alice Springs to pick up our campervan for the next part of the adventure.

2003-07-22T18:32:00.000+10:00

WOW.

Only now do I truly appreciate why Australians are the only people who can say "awesome" without a trace of irony.

Day 2 of our Kakadu adventure. Picked up this morning by a man called Adrian in a 4WD who, as it turns out, is some kind of international expert on Aboriginal Rock Art, having written 3 books on it. The only other people on the tour are a psychiatrist from Melbourne and the bloke who invented the Trident Workbench and is now living off his millions smoking dope in Byron Bay and travelling.

Adrian is excited that it's a small tour and decides to take us to some of the rarely visited rock art. We travel to Arnhem land which is an Aboriginal reserve and can't be entered without a permit. The next thing we know we are rockclimbing rope free up sheer rocks to get to tiny high up ledges with amazingly detailed and interesting rock art which is 1000s of years old and very few people have ever seen. You remember that bit from the start of Mission Impossible 2 where he is up a pinacle? That was us. It turns out that despite not doing much in the way of the outside world for a few years Jim and I are at least as nimble as mountain goats and as springy as rock wallabies.

We also had a little cruise in his boat around a billabong - croc spotting and waterbird watching. He boiled us a billycan of tea at lunchtime and then more rock scrambling up to see "secret mens business" - rock paintings of fights and women with big labia/ men with big testicles. The end of the tour he whips out his didgeridoo from behind a rock and plays us a few ditties - turns out at one time he was a professional didgeridoo player. Not one word of exagerration.

Awesome.

2003-07-21T19:04:00.000+10:00

Kakadu kakatastic!!

Rock art, wetlands, cruising, crocs. So much fun! Having a splendid splendid time and simply bowled over by how beautiful it is. You will all be bored to death with the photos (averaging 48/day).

See you soon.

2003-07-20T21:27:00.000+10:00

Northern territory not very like Northern exposure. Disappointingly.

Getting to know Darwin a pleasure. It's almost as warm here as in Bristol - good training.

Spent first day a wandering - managed to make the big museum which had much cool Aboriginal art (expect bastardised mosaic versions soon) and a stuffed 5.1metre long crocodile called Darling. Which is cool. Also went to open air cinema on a beach, watched 'Adaptation' with waves lapping around. Discovered why multiplexes aren't fitted out with deckchairs.

Day 2 Jim tells me he has arranged a visit to a traditional indiginous cultural display - I was very excited. It was all a bit wierd. Everyone wore white. There were short coloured fellas and enormous white fellas. They seemed to be from different tribes. Anyway they did a long boring dance with a small red ball, 2 flat sticks, 6 round poles and 4 little short poles. I didn't understand what was going on at all but Jim got right into the spirit and was shouting and jumping up and down at the same time as the rest of the audience.

Today we went on a tour to Lichfield national park. First we baited Barramundi (HUGE fish!) then we went out in a little flimsy boat and waved frozen pork chops at crocs in an attempt to get them to leap high enough to get in the boat. Great. Then tour round national park (termite mounds and waterfalls - what more could you ask for). Swam in big waterfall pools and tried not to think like a pork chop.

Tomorrow off to Kakadu. 3 day tour. Can't wait.

12 days until home!

SEE you soon.
love
noo
xxxxxx

PS Prize for counting the number of spelling mistakes in above.

2003-07-18T13:16:00.000+10:00

Incidently I don't think i told you but my Mum has been asked to write a BOOK about painting in a loose (as in sloppy, not promiscuous!) way by HARPERCOLINS. How cool is that??

2003-07-18T13:12:00.000+10:00

In exciting balmy Darwin which is very different from the GoldCoast and very warm but also cool. Felt sad yesterday leaving work and lots of people I suddenly discover I'll miss. Still, feelings of sadness were soothed by leaping on a plane and flying away for tropical adventure. This bit of Australia is incredibly underpopulated. So when the crocodile bites Jim no-one will hear him scream.....
The countdown clock tells me I only have TWO weeks left in Australia. Incredible.
That means I only have 2 and a half weeks until I start work again. Blimey.
SEE YOU soon (unless you're one of our loyal australian fans).

2003-07-14T20:28:00.000+10:00

THREE more days at work! Hurrah!
Very excited about seeing Darwin and Kakadu (aiming to be eaten by crocodiles) and conquering the rock. Which I won't be climbing - it's disrespectful to the local aboriginal community (nothing to do with me being lazy).
EVEN MORE excited about seeing Tess Manson-Whitton and Tom Whitton. And corrupting them.
BOOK NOW for a celebrationary lap visit.

2003-07-12T09:43:00.000+10:00

Hello!
Last set of nights finished! Hurrah! Just feeling settled at work - lovign the department and the team. Must be time to leave.
Crazy weekend of entertaining the Rutter creature.
Then 4 day shifts.
Then we've booked our triumphant lap of honour. Fly to Darwin, trip around Kakadu national park, fly to AliceSprings, see the red centre and Uluru (formerly Ayres rock), fly back to Brisbane via Sydney. All very exciting.
Hands up who wants me to bring them home a Didgeridoo.

2003-07-04T18:31:00.000+10:00

Less than a month to go. Can't wait to get back to England where there'll be no need for the thermals, scarves etc needed in mid-winter Queensland. Have been distributing our home address merrily to a whole bunch of random but lovely australian folk so hoping to get good wear from the new sofa bed!

2003-07-02T23:17:00.000+10:00

Went for dinner with lovely lovely BRITS and celebrated traditional british cuisine by having a lovely hot curry. YUM!
94.5 hours at work left.
Night night / good morning*
natalie xxx
* - delete as applicable.

2003-06-28T14:09:00.000+10:00

Ginny's new baby is now called Tom and not Isaac incidentally. I have had to burn all the specially embroidered linen and clothes I bought them!

2003-06-28T10:20:00.000+10:00

Back "home" - only another 13 shifts of work left! Hurrah!

2003-06-24T18:26:00.000+10:00

Finished HP book (excellent).
Now being Eco-tourist (or eco-warriers or something) on lovely lovely Fraser Island. It's the worlds biggest sand only island and has lovely lakes and rainforests and stuff. All of which are a bit of a blur racing past our Jeep Wrangler window. I was worried when jim said "hmmm, this is a bit like a rally track" but he got his comeuppance by grounding it. I have been driving very sedately.
Still no dingos. Boo. They are shy. Would be fined up to $1000 for feeding them Smackos.
Home in less than 40days on my prime ministerial baby cuddling tour!

2003-06-22T12:16:00.000+10:00

Queued for 30mins to buy new Harry Potter, hired car, mooched along Sunshine Coast (north of Brisbane, significantly sunnier than Gold Coast) to Mooloolaba. Yes, we did visit entirely on the basis of its name. Jim managed to find an aquarium there - where does his fishy obsession come from? Expect more photos soon.
Now in Hervey Bay waiting to go over tomorrow for a 4 wheel drive and dingo adventure. Missed out on Whale watching (although we did see them off the coast south last weekend). Oh well, there's always Harry Potter!
Have seen photos of Isaac (now perhaps not to be named Isaac). He's very cute. Very hairy.

2003-06-20T12:05:00.000+10:00

Finding it VERY hard not to jump on plane and go home and see the new Whitton. He looks great on his photos. My sister Ginny and her other Jeff are VERY clever you know.

Had the ideal night in ED. RTA with GCS 10, DKA with pH6.8, TCA OD with P140. What more can you ask for?

Now a few days off for a Fraser Island adventure.

2003-06-19T19:13:00.000+10:00

I'm an uncle! Clever old Ginny had a little boy this morning. He's called Isaac. HURRAH!

2003-06-16T14:41:00.000+10:00

Back on nights from tonight. Boo. Inbox is a bit empty - have you all forgotten me?
Natalie

2003-06-15T22:25:00.000+10:00

Lovely day meandering down the coast to Byron Bay in hire car (ahh! the freedom of a motor). Byron Bay is like "Stroud by the sea". Very alternative. Very hippy. Had delicious veggie burgers and walked to east most point of australia (I was a LONG way from home). Watched whales making northerly migration. Amazing. Sat on grassy knoll watching sun go down whilst listening to hippy bongo drum playing - no, really. Found our first decent British-Indian restaurant in Australia. Perfect day. Except I forgot it was Fathers day at home - sorry D! You're great though!
Still no new nephew/neice.

2003-06-14T21:48:00.000+10:00

Hello lovely viewing public!
Unfortunately the girls from up above who were down under have flown away. Missing their girlish laughter and frolicing muchly. Jim, on the other hand is missing their wandering around the house in skimpy nighties, tidying the house and cooking of food. Sigh, I'll have to start 'the programme' again. Thanks for everything Anu and Ruthy roo.
Unfortunately plans to be savaged by wild dingos on Frazer Island were thwarted by the girls spending all their money on wine in the Hunter valley and by the attack of URTI + laryngitis. Sigh.
Depositing them in Brisbane airport gave us a splendid excuse to wander round Brisbane which was lovely. Metal wallabies on street. Fab. Also got our own private guide tour round Brisbane Art gallery by mad woman. Fascinating. Lots of Aussie art and a Picasso - of which they are very proud!
Back on the gold coast we went to the cinema. I came out from powdering my nose to find Jim playing a flashy light machine surrounded by a croud of Japenese who were CLAPPING HIM and CHEERING - apparently he's a god in the world of Puzzle Bubble. Really, I had no idea I was in the presence of such greatness.
Mainly playing on my mind is when big sis Ginny will pop - my new neice/ nephew being now over a week overdue. It is getting exceedingly hard to be on this side of the world, lovely though it is, even in mid-winter.
Just a wee bit homesick. Keep in touch!

2003-06-11T12:32:00.000+10:00

HELLO!
I have been chastised for my lack of updating. Umm. Having a nice time showing anu and ruth the highlights of the gold coast and discussing wedding dresses. Puff sleeves, thats what i say. We watched four weddings and a funeral this morning as research. I've had laryngitis which made it a bit quiet.

2003-06-07T11:37:00.000+10:00

Back on the lovely gold coast. Where else but queensland?
Ruth and Anu have gone to explore Sydney and sound like they're supplying the creatures with sunglasses in the process.
I've been doing time - just done 4 nights. Yuck. Still, today I'm practising for sleeping for england - in the olympics. 18 hours out of the last 24. Beat that.
Next week there's a public holiday for the queens birthday (hurrah!) so expect more japes.

2003-05-30T10:18:00.000+10:00

Wind wind rain wind rain wind
Hopes of seeing outer (or great) barrier reef via seaplane pretty slim.
I hear the weather in England is lovely...

2003-05-29T20:58:00.000+10:00

An 'extreme weather warning' has been issued for daydream island.
On a lighter note lovely stephen davis (from college) and lovely ruth denewtown (from bedford) have got engaged. And it's all thanks to me. Anyone else want a perfect love match? Email me your details at nataliewhitton@yahoo.co.uk

2003-05-29T09:37:00.000+10:00

HELLO!
We were meant to hire a boat today but it's peeing down. Jim'll be glad - he got burnt to a frizzle on day 2 and hasn't recovered yet. All well with the world particularly with VERY exciting news from 2 special peeps - of which more soon.

2003-05-27T10:27:00.000+10:00

hello!
Daydream island. Could it get any better? Sun, sea, silly people who have flown all the way from Bristol/Guildford/Goa just to see us. Had my first alcoholic drink in a month and nearly fell over. After the second I did. Whilst the flat brown land and clear blue sky has a definate beauty in the outback, it's bloody nice to register water and the colour green on my spectrum. Hopefully today we're going to get facials and massages and general pampering. And then there's this 'beer' which I appear to have a taste for.

2003-05-24T16:40:00.000+10:00

Hello peeps!
I've got my lovely Jim in the outback now. Soon after he arrived I bought him a big leather hat. Now he's sitting in a bar drinking 4X and yarning to locals - I think he's gone feral.
We've just been to the picnic races. The town goes out to a field and gets the stockhorses running flat races with the jackaroos riding them. It's much fun. No safety barrier, no rules.
Looking forward to out own walking SARS bombs - Ruth, Stephen and Anu arriving tomorrow.
More soon
nooxxxxx

2003-05-21T20:48:00.000+10:00

Hurrah. Only 4 more days left in the outback. It's been an experience. Like many things that are an experience that doesn't necessarily mean I'm desperately sad it's over. Certainly have heaps and heaps of respect for the GPs who do this fulltime though.
Am very pleased I have backed out of my GP rotation as well.

See you soon!

2003-05-19T21:32:00.000+10:00

Winton (the town i'm in now) has the following tourist attractions
1. Museum dedicated to the writing of the song "waltzin matilda" - alledgedly written regarding billabong near here
2. Arnos wall. Long wall with household items (TV, sink, motorbike) embedded into wall.
3. Public bins in shape of plastic dinasaur feet.
I am saving up these cultural treats until Jim gets here and thus tonight will content myself with watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV.

Looking forward to iminent arrival of Stephen, Ruth and Anu who will help Jim and I enjoy the daydream resort on picturesque Whitsunday island group off barrier reef. Ahhh. What a nice thought.

2003-05-17T18:19:00.000+10:00

The bush? I'm over it.
3 flies have flown up my nose.
I'm battling in a private GP practice where i can't work the computers and the patients all want Temazepam and Valium.

Roll on beautiful subtropical reef island resort.

2003-05-10T18:34:00.000+10:00

Curses. Attempts to find Jim another woman, hence get him to leave me alone have failed. Despite the temptations of a bucks night he chose shiney technology AGAIN. Sigh. I shall have to persist with my plan to have a roo kidnap him when he comes out to the bush. SHHHhh! It's a SECRET.

2003-05-10T12:27:00.000+10:00

What shall we do with www.jimandnataliedownunder.com when we get back? Any ideas? I'd hate to break up our happy online community!

2003-05-09T18:34:00.000+10:00

HELLO!
I had my peripheral clinic today in Jericho, on the banks of the river Jordan. Very biblical so I did some healing. Or tried.
Alpha is lovely.
Being on call 24/7 for 2 weeks has not been good for the alcohol consumption but I have made up for it with a 3litre a day dietcoke habit. For those who remember my blue Peugeot and the perpetual state of the floor this may not come as a huge suprise.
People who do this job for more than a month deserve medals and awards. It is not easy being THE doctor to a community.
love noo roo -friend to the roos

2003-05-07T18:20:00.000+10:00

Hello my avid fans
how's the avidness?
Have moved from Aramac hospital to Alpha hospital today. I'll miss my little hospital on stilts. Alpha is a sprawling metropolis (population 1400 and TWO pubs. TWO I tell you!). Amusingly here as well as being the medical superintendant of a 12 bedded hospital and the GP for the whole town I also run my own private practice. No, really. People will PAY MONEY to see me out of their own pockets. I hope I'm worth it! I may have to sing and dance in addition to the medical advice to make it cost effective i fear.
I love kangaroos. They're great. Hopping is such an underated mode of transport.
Alpha is on the highway ( a straight flat road but with 2 lanes!) so we may get a bit of passing trade. Most of it 'road train' drivers. Road trains are big articulated lorrie towing 2 big lorry sized trailers! Usually full of mooing cows.
Fortunately the hospital is run by 2 people from stoke on trent so really we can be quite colonial. Rather nice to have a bit of sarcastic self depreciating humour and mnade me hunger just a little for home. No-one abuses me better than you lot.
THANKYOU for wonderful emails - personal replies will come when i figure out how to hack into the hospital machine - currently in the local cafe feeding dollars into a slot. Love hearing about blossoming and fluffy love (R/S) sweet/crisps/chocolates (S/R) emergencies (S-A) as well as news from my fantastically email connected family.
More soon
noo xxxxxxxxx

2003-05-02T17:32:00.000+10:00

Population of 500 people. Not dinasaurs. Just to clear that up.

2003-05-02T17:31:00.000+10:00

Hello lovely peeps,
Thanks for your emails all - a very happy read today. Sally-Anne, Stephen, Ruth - GREAT to hear from you. Am VERY excited about many bits of news. I will reply soon when the librarian isn't scowling at me!! I think it's because I'm an out of towner!
Had my peripheral clinic in Muttaburra today (84km away) - famed for being the place the Muttaburrasaurus was discovered (no, really! I met the man who found it! Saw a fair proportion of the population of 500. Also enjoyed watching 2 emus on the way back. Managed not to use the roo bar at all though! Had a lovely time driving along flat straight road. Met 2 people who earn a living by shooting roos - sounds a bit distressing to me.
It was 14degrees C last night (35 in the day!) and everyone is complaining about the cold!!
More soon
love noo
xxxxxx

2003-04-30T12:10:00.000+10:00

I'm HERE! Out back in the outback. In Aramac to be precise - about 1000km inland from brisbane. Blimey! Feel like I've wandered in on an episode of a country practise. I've got my little 10 bedded hospital. And i'm also the GP for the entire population - who are all very excited to see me as they haven't had a doctor in the last week. On friday I'm off to do my peripheral clinic in muttaburra - 75km up the track. I get to drive myself in my own ute with its big roo bar. The emus aren't such a hazard.
It's quite phenomenal - I'll tell you all about it at length when I get home! It's been a challenge getting to email but eventually found one in the town library (intermittently open). Transferred my first patient out yesterday (IHD). If we call flying docs we have to light the flares to help them land so the whole process takes quite a while. I'm pratying the snakes are going to be docile this week because I don't fancy managing a snake bite out here. Sorry no personal emails - not time at the moment but keep emailing - I'll be checking as often as possible.
natalie
xxx

2003-04-23T11:43:00.000+10:00

I meant main

2003-04-23T11:42:00.000+10:00

Dear Estelle, Ruth and Suzy,
Because I know you are the pain website checkers.
How's it going?
All well with me. Except I was off to the bush for a month to escape you-know-who's evil clutches and now he's planning to follow me. Pah!
love nooxxxx

2003-04-18T01:07:00.000+10:00

Please keep posting in the guest book!

2003-04-18T01:06:00.000+10:00

Regarding work. After 3 months I hereby announce that claims Australian Emergency medicine is 10 years ahead of us are vastly exagerrated. In fact if you put good radiology department accesibility and a few more shop floor doctors in Frenchay hospital then we'd be on a par at home. It is no great suprise that waiting times and less when you have at least twice as many doctors and nurses on duty. The experience is also proportionally diluted.

2003-04-18T01:03:00.000+10:00

Dear lovely people and internet based organisations,
HELLO! Happy Easter.
I've been doing LOTS of swimming in my local yummy olympic sized pool. It's great. No sharks. I'm sure my new swimming speed will come in mighty handy in the bush when faced with dingos and packs of roos.

2003-04-11T11:12:00.000+10:00

G'day Possum,
Went out with some of our new Australichums from the hospital last night. There were 4 English people, 1 Irish man, 3 Dutch people and one token Australian around the table. Hmmm.
I go to the bush in 2 weeks so any words of medical or survival advice would be most welcome.

2003-04-07T10:19:00.000+10:00

We went on an adventure in the hire car last night. Drove into the hinterland to find glow worms. Parked up. Walked through dark and gloomy forest (which was made less scarey by the occasional group of Japenese tourists). Walked into cave type feature. Saw colony of glow worms. Mmm. Glowey.

2003-04-05T23:05:00.000+10:00

I would hereby like to officially announce that I know the cleverest girl in all of loopy land. Her name is Ruth De Newtown and she is MRCP positive and will probably develop the cure for SARS anytime now. If she can drag herself away from drunken rude revelry in Goa that is.

2003-04-05T17:08:00.000+10:00

Splendid day. Hired a car. Felt powerful and quick again. Drove up Tambourine mountain. Jingled around looking at nature and views. Ate lunch but was unable to get rolling drunk as driving car. Jim made up for it. Jim's special treat coming to oversized shopping centre. Bored now.

2003-04-05T17:05:00.001+10:00

5 years! I could be president if it weren't for him.

2003-04-05T17:05:00.000+10:00

Jim and I realised today it was our 5th anniversary 2 (or perhaps 3) days ago. We marked the day in traditional style by both forgetting and then argueing over the actual date. Ahem. Loves young dream.

2003-04-02T09:44:00.000+10:00

Hello all!
Humiliating language barrier moment in Emergency Department last night when middle aged male patient asked me to remove his Thong.
It means something quite quite different out here.

2003-03-29T10:49:00.000+10:00

Stunningly lovely day on the Gold Coast today. Wish you were all here for an international game of cricket. Except we would have to pre-cripple the Australians or they would attempt to obsessively overachieve.

2003-03-26T10:10:00.000+10:00

Back on nights.
It would not be entirely true to say I had gone a bit potty. However.....

2003-03-26T10:09:00.000+10:00

Sydney is a lovely city
The streets are paved with Gold
And compared o Surfers Paradise
It was very near to COLD

2003-03-22T17:24:00.000+10:00

Sydney is a really stunning city - both 'awesome' and 'beaut' (here displaying my grasp of australian slang). The habour thing is cool but Jim doesn't seem very keen on going to the opera. We have experienced local culture and tradition - via Starbucks and McDonalds....
And of course today we went to the Zoo.

2003-03-20T19:35:00.000+10:00

Sorry about the photo page - I don't have any editorial control. It seemed amusing at the time to take a million photos of my developing bruise.
Hope you enjoy the kitesurfing pictures especially the one with my enormous spot.

2003-03-20T19:34:00.000+10:00

Hello lovely peeps,
Had a lovely birthday. Started on Australian time and ended on British time - thus extending my birthday to an impressive 34 hours!
Thankyou for lovely cards and e-mail greetings - nice to hear from everyone.
Off to Sydney for the weekend to go to the Opera and climb the bridge.

2003-03-11T05:59:00.000+10:00

No longer on nights - but climbing the walls with insomnia - my body is ued to doing 7 night shifts in a row.
Had a telephone interview for a medical rotation. Very odd having an interview in your pyjamas in the lounge! Success was mine (well, it must have been my eye contact and body language) and I will be doing renal in Southmead in August followed by ITU, Cardiology, Respiratory/ Geriatrics and then MAU. That's my next 2 and a half years sorted then.
Oh yes, I've bought some wheels too.....

2003-03-09T08:23:00.000+10:00

Hello all! I'm on nights so awake when you are. Somehow I'm sure that brings us closer.
Friday night in Australian Emergency Department similar to Friday night in Bristol. Endless waves of pissed young men who whilst 'minding their own business' or 'trying to defend girlfriends honour' were set upon and beaten up. Funny how NO-ONE ever comes in saying they started a fight.
Jim appears to have lost interest in website in favour of a PC game called Spider Solitaire which is the work of the devil (the game, not Jim. I think).

2003-03-04T13:41:00.000+10:00

4th day off in a row. What am I supposed to DO with all this freetime? Suggestions on a postcard.

2003-03-02T17:13:00.000+10:00

Hello sleepy english peeps!
Have had a splendid day watching people dodge sharks at the annual national kiteboarding competition in Surfers paradise. People strap themselves to big kites and skateboard sized surf boards and then, using enormous waves as ramps hurtle off into the air for massive heights and distances. Looks jolly dangerous (good for business) but very impressive.
Jim opted to spend day sitting around flat in underwear.

2003-02-28T22:40:00.000+10:00

Who would have suspected the 'evil eye' special fx would've been so predictive?

2003-02-28T14:58:00.000+10:00

I have had a calamity! The wierd gravity and weeks of walking upside down caused me to faint! I am now fully equipped with hangdog expression and impressive black eye - people seem to be giving Jim a wide berth. Interesting to use my Emergency Dept from the other side of the desk. You'll all be pleased to know that facial views were fine and demonstrated a hollow skull (I assume it is from somewhere within there I became MRCP p1 +ve!).

2003-02-25T21:25:00.000+10:00

Tie me kangaroo down,
Hello all! Thanks for all lovely e-mails. Don't forget to keep signing the visitors book too.
My heart strings were plucked by message from my poor car, freezing at home whilst I am swanning around.
Had a top day at work today pulling dislocated things, plastering, suturing and diagnosing. Single handedly healed the sick of Australia. Tomorrow I expect I'll cure cancer.

2003-02-24T22:36:00.000+10:00

Rain rain rain. Nothing in half measures - drought to flood. Jim took our only umbrella and when I arrived at work the boss sent me to the laundrey to get myslef tumbledried.

2003-02-24T10:08:00.000+10:00

Failed to see Polar Bears, very disappointing.
Am marginally concerned we have flown across world in order to give Jim substrate for spending more time on computer.
Today am 'fast-track' doctor seeing the minor things in AandE - twisted ankles etc. Don't start work until 12! Hurrah.

2003-02-22T17:59:00.000+10:00

Raining like a weekend in Weston-Super-Mare.
Jim and I got in touch with our inner whitetrash tourist and rode 'Adventure Duck' - a bus/boat which does guided tour of Gold Coast. Jim even got to sit up front with the driver and drive the boat - he's still wearing his "I drove the Adventure Duck" Sticker. Tomorrow the Gold Coast Sea World theme park - with Polar Bears and everything.

2003-02-21T08:56:00.000+10:00

Confirmation that my stint in the bush (no jokes) will be as a solo doctor looking after a small community. People say things like "it'll be a real Australian experience". At least there won't be any sharks. Not at all nervous.

2003-02-19T19:42:00.000+10:00

Am off to pub

2003-02-19T19:41:00.000+10:00

Also greeted first paycheck. Similar numbers to the UK but pounds instead of dollars. Jim got paid TWICE what I did as he is pretending to be a registrar.

2003-02-19T19:40:00.000+10:00

Have recieved placement for 'country relieving term' - a condition of my visa.
Come the end of March I will be 'Nippy the bush kangadoctor' 1000km and 3hours flight west of here in Alpha, Winton and Aramac Hospitals/health centres. For 4 weeks I will be the medical officer for some bush towns. Am reassured senior medical/obsetric/surgical help only a small flight away and I can call the flying docs anytime.

2003-02-17T14:07:00.000+10:00

Nearly blew the flat up. The electrics are all upside down. Had to get an electrician. He wore shorts! Hurrah for this country and its blatent display of knees.

2003-02-15T18:22:00.000+10:00

G'day darl'
After a "gruelling" 40 hour week I have been granted 3 days off!
Spent the day strolling some of the 70km uninturrupted golden sand of the Gold Coast watching surfers drown/ being eaten by sharks. Golden sunshine and top lifeguard totty certainly completes the spectator value.
Jim opted to lie around the flat in his underwear, resisting the outside world even when lured with pasties. I'll keep you posted.

2003-02-13T08:27:00.000+10:00

Hello! Sorry for the lack of photos - Jim left the wire that connects phone to computer in bristol. It works less well there.
Stuart, Ros, Ruth I don't have your e-mail addresses - EMAIL ME ! Please!!

2003-02-12T23:32:00.000+10:00

The chap we rented the flat from kindly left us some references for Australian slang. It appears they have more words for vomit than any other nation. Chunder, Crook chuck, Heave, Technicolour yawn, Yodel and Yack to name a few. It makes me doubly proud to report that today an Australian mistook me for a fellow Australian. Just goes to show how quickly and naturally I have acquired the accent and turned into a toned blonde surfer chick. No, really, I have.

2003-02-12T21:36:00.000+10:00

Hello all! Day 2 at work and a patient turns up having been bitten by a snake. And he brings the snake along too. Dead fortunately. We fixed him up ok but the snake is on the critical list...

2003-02-11T22:37:00.000+10:00

By the way, I didn't think the evil eye effect was at all funny.
(For those that haven't run your mouse over my picture on the home page). Join my fight for freedom. E-mail your vote to have the evil eye effect removed to jim at jim@jimmoriarty.com - or post your abhorence of such cheap website trickery on the guest book.

2003-02-11T22:33:00.000+10:00

Apparently some of the smaller dogs out in australia are actually CATS in drag. Everything is topsy turvey here.

2003-02-11T21:44:00.000+10:00

Hello! My first proper day in the EMERGENCY Department. Or as they call it here, CASUALTY. No, really. However, no sign of Charlie, Duffy etc, disappointingly. Startling musings for the day -
*My first 4 patients had a combined DAILY alcohol consumption of 67 units.
*Australian doctors swear a lot. Sorry, I mean they FUCKING swear alot MATE. I was shocked and appalled. Really, I was. Fuck.
*There are approximately twice as many shop floor docs and shop floor nurses for the same number of patients. Yet everyone looks as busy and stressed. The only possible explanation as Frenchay/ Southmead team worked at SUPERHUMAN speeds.

More earth shattering observations soon. Missing you all.

2003-02-10T07:37:00.000+10:00

Hello. Off to the hospital for first time today. Apparently we have to be induced. If you haven't had a personal e-mail from me I may not know you're e-mail address. Please send it to me!

2003-02-09T14:30:00.000+10:00

I even know how to use it. Sort of.

2003-02-09T14:16:00.000+10:00

Hello. Jim has set me up a web log. Sounds like the ideal place to find a very scarey venomous spider.
natalie
xx