We have been in Sydney for about a month, staying with Jon's cousin Ness and Michael, seeing all the Aussie Sygraves (Jon's family), and working. Jon has been digging holes again and I have been working for the Department of Infrastruscture, Planning and Natural resources. Sound impressive? - well I did a good job of answering their phones...

Having a regular job and living in a flat in Bondi (thank you so much again N&M) with a lovely view of the beach out of our bedroom window is as good an insight into the aussie way of life as you can get. I can relate it quite well to London with the getting up earlier than you'd like, the cold weather forcing you into jumpers and coats, the heaving buses sailing on past when you're already late in the morning, but there are enough differences to keep you in mind that you are in another country. The sun is out most of the time and when it is shining on you, unlike the cold British sun, it actually warms you enough to take off your coat. They have double decker trains which generally fit all the commuters in, and there are no streams of homeless people lying in sleeping bags or cardboard boxes.

Bondi beach was not quite the idyll we had been led to believe. The beach was a lot smaller than expected and had a lot more rubbish too. Jon said that he could taste chemicals after swimming in the sea there and although we spoke to many people who agreed with us, there is still no real explanation as to why it is so famous. I guess it's just one of those places that's just famous for being famous.

I have found that Sydney people are very fashion concious and tend to look good wherever they go, so as a result I spent a lot of time in charity shops trying to improve my wardrobe. I don't think I did very well though...

Sydney is a beautiful city with lovely harbours, coastlines and the botanical gardens. It seems safe for the mostpart and on a night out, you will generally find that people are friendly and having a good time.