Thursday, May 26, 2011
Where We Live
Well, believe it or not we have now been here 6 months, time really does seem to go so quickly.
, the little gem we found that is The Vines Resort,
all the folks we can now call our new friends, the house we have bought in Aveley,
all the shopping for the furniture and décor, (You can imagine how Our Wend loved that bit!), the new sparkling pool,
my new golf club, our first weekend away at a place called Moore River
and the final piece of the jigsaw is the fish and chip shop we are in the process of buying (just waiting for confirmation that they will assign the lease to us, no guarantees yet though). Yep, just call me Pete the Greek peoples!!
We can all honestly say that where we are living really suits us at the moment and ticks all the boxes (with the exception of not being right on the beach, although it’s only half an hour away) so we are battening down the hatches and gonna settle in and work towards our permanent residency, which will take 2/3 years.
We now live in Aveley which is a suburb in the wine growing region known as The Swan Valley, about 40 minutes northeast of Perth CBD, its sits alongside Ellenbrook, which is tipped for big things, and just 5/10 minutes away is The Vines, very up market, most homes are on 1 acre blocks and in the $1m bracket.
Ellenbrook has an enormous shopping area, which has just been extended and there is talk of a phase 3. This is the main shopping centre it is only 2 minutes in the car.
The area also has 3 ovals (Coolamon, Ellenbrook and Charlottes Vineyard) all within 5 minutes of the house), these are basically very large open spaces which have Aussie rules football pitches, cricket nets, basketball courts, tennis courts, skate parks and running tracks, kids play areas, all accessible any time to any one and completely free,
a bowling club with a 8 greens (costs $15 per annum membership, has a bar and coffee shop), loads of open spaces with lakes,
running tracks, kiddies play areas (there are dozens of these, there are five within a 5 minute walk of where we live) a water park,
swimming baths, mountain bike park, free library, snooker club, only one pub would you believe but it is huge,
3 high schools, 4 primary schools plus a new one being built at the moment, 4 kindergartens and two new churches being built at this time, plus a new smaller shopping area in Aveley itself. All the above, including all the houses would occupy an area about the size of Sutton Coldfield. There is really no reason to go further than a 5/10 minute drive for anything. Never see a traffic jam, driving is a pleasure again.
There is a massive emphasis on providing open, free access recreational space, these all have drinking water fountains, free gas barbecue’s, benches, structures or sails to keep you out of the sun.
They even provide the poo bags free of charge for you to dispose of your dog’s mess!! You are not allowed to have your dog off the leash, so they provide large purpose built fenced areas that you can take your dog to and let them run around freely. These have a double gate system, so there is now way that your dog can accidentally get out.
Peter and his pal had an incident recently at the local skate park. We had dropped him and Joel off with a view to picking them up later, but no sooner had we left them that Peter had called to say that Joel had been hit by this aboriginal kid.
Well, about a week before hand I took Peter to the same skate park and witnessed this same kid, who is about 11/12, round on some bigger boys, they would have been about 15/16, and nick $20 off them. He then skedaddled on his bike which prompted these lads to let him know he was going be in trouble if he did not come straight back with the dosh. He made it pretty clear he had no intention of coming back or giving the dosh back, the language he came out with was just incredible for a kid of his age, for that matter a kid of any age! He also told them that if they even tried to get the money, he would bring his Dad and his brothers down to sort them all out. The bigger lads at that pretty much told him he could keep the money it’s was ok, they were only joking!!
I know he is only a kid, but he is probably thee most disgusting specimen that I have ever seen in my whole life, (he epitomises what people have told me about aboriginals), his future isn’t looking too Rosey.
Anyway, Our Wend went back there, poor Joel, who is no small kid, was completely distraught; I was quite surprised he had not defended himself. So Our Wend, good as gold, gave the abbo the full ‘Northfield Roar’, right up close and personal. She then called the Police. As you might expect, he and his family are well known, he denied doing anything, but the Police made it very clear that he was in serious trouble if there is a report again. His Mother also couldn’t believe her little boy would do anything like that!! It then came out that he goes to the same school as Ella and Marley and he is a nightmare there, totally uncontrollable. We passed him in the car the other day, PJ begged me to run him over, gotta say I was tempted!!
What the little s**t did not know is that Joel’s Dad, Serg, is a ‘rigger’ (a steel frame building erector), sizeable and looks really useful and not to be messed with, his brother Aiden, 14, is a very fit looking lad, hairier than anyone I know looks about 16 , and also looks a mean as hell. They were going to pay the skate park a visit and Aiden is going to put the fear of God up this little lad and Serg is going along in case he wants to bring his brothers and or his Dad down. Serg was not too complimentary about our aboriginal friends I can tell you. Elvira, Serg’s missus said would Aiden really hit him, Serg said, ‘Yeah, if I tell him to!’
What was I doing whilst all this was going on I hear you ask, on the golf course where else, thank goodness!!!!
Other than our abbo, all the kids are so polite and friendly, they just have the best time and spend hours in the skate park.
Main benefits of being in Aveley are that the kid’s schools are so close by, we cycle every morning, but they are so close you could even walk. The kids are also so close to all their school pals, they have regular sleepovers at their house or they come to ours, they are all so nearby. It’s such a difference not having to take them in the car and pick them up afterwards, a real treat. They are on the verge of coming and going on their own soon, it’s very safe here, although the locals don’t think so, it is really.
We had a first weekend away recently, seems funny being in this sort of climate and going away for a break!
We went just north of here, with Daren, Jackie, Scott & Tammy, their two kids Alex & Brook, to a place called Moore River, about an hour’s drive, aptly named as it’s the point where the Moore River meets the sea. We rented a beautiful home and went beach fishing Saturday and river fishing Sunday. None of us caught anything Saturday, (did get through a large quantity of beer though), but on Sunday, Daren caught 4, Brook, Scottie and Alex caught 2 each, Niamh caught 3, she can now cast herself and reels ‘em in on her own, the big girls didn’t fish and caught the same amount as the Peter’s, precisely nowt!!!
The scenery was terrific, there were buzzards flying overhead, and stingrays swimming literally 2mtrs from the shore, pelicans the size of sheep,
parrots, just amazing. I should have bashed the stingray it on the head when I had the chance, ‘cus I was never going to catch a fish any other way!!!!
We have had one or two encounters with these
But we have also seen one or two of these
The Skerritts in Oz
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| Front view of Pete's school |
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| Niamh's school |
, the little gem we found that is The Vines Resort,
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| Practice Area at The Vines |
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| Spend a nice few hours here every week. Lovely!!! |
all the folks we can now call our new friends, the house we have bought in Aveley,
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| Looking down Pirianda Way, our house on the corner on the right |
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| Looking towards our nearest park, just beyond the red car |
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| Looking opposite way, house is on my right elbow. |
all the shopping for the furniture and décor, (You can imagine how Our Wend loved that bit!), the new sparkling pool,
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| You've heard of The Committments, well these are The Lunatics |
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| Champion Fisherwoman |
and the final piece of the jigsaw is the fish and chip shop we are in the process of buying (just waiting for confirmation that they will assign the lease to us, no guarantees yet though). Yep, just call me Pete the Greek peoples!!
We can all honestly say that where we are living really suits us at the moment and ticks all the boxes (with the exception of not being right on the beach, although it’s only half an hour away) so we are battening down the hatches and gonna settle in and work towards our permanent residency, which will take 2/3 years.
We now live in Aveley which is a suburb in the wine growing region known as The Swan Valley, about 40 minutes northeast of Perth CBD, its sits alongside Ellenbrook, which is tipped for big things, and just 5/10 minutes away is The Vines, very up market, most homes are on 1 acre blocks and in the $1m bracket.
Ellenbrook has an enormous shopping area, which has just been extended and there is talk of a phase 3. This is the main shopping centre it is only 2 minutes in the car.
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| The Shops at Ellenbrook |
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| Yep Woollies is alive and trading over here. |
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| And BIG W |
The area also has 3 ovals (Coolamon, Ellenbrook and Charlottes Vineyard) all within 5 minutes of the house), these are basically very large open spaces which have Aussie rules football pitches, cricket nets, basketball courts, tennis courts, skate parks and running tracks, kids play areas, all accessible any time to any one and completely free,
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| Coolamon Oval, tennis, basketball and skate park are to the right of the Clubhouse |
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| Rear view of Peters school on top of the hill. Dogs secure running area is on the right, you can just see the fence. |
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| Charlottes Vineyard Oval |
a bowling club with a 8 greens (costs $15 per annum membership, has a bar and coffee shop), loads of open spaces with lakes,
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| This is Woodlake, its situated right by Niamhs school. Directly over the top of the ducks head is the amphitheatre, which they use for outdoor plays and movie shows. They used it recently for the ANZAC day celebrations. |
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| Taken from the other side of the lake. |
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| Another view of Woodlake. |
running tracks, kiddies play areas (there are dozens of these, there are five within a 5 minute walk of where we live) a water park,
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| Ellenbrook town centre lake. The area with the sails over the top is a kids free water park |
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| Another view of the water park, changing rooms on the left, free barbecues in foreground |
swimming baths, mountain bike park, free library, snooker club, only one pub would you believe but it is huge,
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| Ellenbrook High Street, the pub is on the opposite side of the square, just to the right of the fountains. All of the building is the pub!! |
3 high schools, 4 primary schools plus a new one being built at the moment, 4 kindergartens and two new churches being built at this time, plus a new smaller shopping area in Aveley itself. All the above, including all the houses would occupy an area about the size of Sutton Coldfield. There is really no reason to go further than a 5/10 minute drive for anything. Never see a traffic jam, driving is a pleasure again.
There is a massive emphasis on providing open, free access recreational space, these all have drinking water fountains, free gas barbecue’s, benches, structures or sails to keep you out of the sun.
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| These are some of our neighbours. They live in a scrub area just next to us. They are totally wild. The next set of pictures, the lakes, are just beyond the fence that keeps these fellas in. |
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| One of the many lakes/water features of the Aveley estate. All have lawned picnic areas. |
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| This is a chill out area situated between the two lakes. The barbecues in the foreground are gas and free to use. |
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| Same set of lakes from bridge between the two. The barbecues previously mentioned are situated just over the top of the jetty on the right. |
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| Yet another lake, two minutes walk from the previous one. They are popular for boating and messing about with model boats. The mulicoloured roof construction is another kiddies play area. |
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| This is our nearest park, its a 2 minute walk. Our house is just over the top of the gazebo. The track I am standing on is a running track, with workout stations positioned around it at intervals. |
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| This is the kiddies play area. You can just make it out on the previous picture on the right hand side. Thats Niamh Peter Jodie and Sean in view. |
Peter and his pal had an incident recently at the local skate park. We had dropped him and Joel off with a view to picking them up later, but no sooner had we left them that Peter had called to say that Joel had been hit by this aboriginal kid.
Well, about a week before hand I took Peter to the same skate park and witnessed this same kid, who is about 11/12, round on some bigger boys, they would have been about 15/16, and nick $20 off them. He then skedaddled on his bike which prompted these lads to let him know he was going be in trouble if he did not come straight back with the dosh. He made it pretty clear he had no intention of coming back or giving the dosh back, the language he came out with was just incredible for a kid of his age, for that matter a kid of any age! He also told them that if they even tried to get the money, he would bring his Dad and his brothers down to sort them all out. The bigger lads at that pretty much told him he could keep the money it’s was ok, they were only joking!!
I know he is only a kid, but he is probably thee most disgusting specimen that I have ever seen in my whole life, (he epitomises what people have told me about aboriginals), his future isn’t looking too Rosey.
 |
| Took a bit of getting but managed to snap him going to school with his Mom. Pretty ain't he?!!! |
Anyway, Our Wend went back there, poor Joel, who is no small kid, was completely distraught; I was quite surprised he had not defended himself. So Our Wend, good as gold, gave the abbo the full ‘Northfield Roar’, right up close and personal. She then called the Police. As you might expect, he and his family are well known, he denied doing anything, but the Police made it very clear that he was in serious trouble if there is a report again. His Mother also couldn’t believe her little boy would do anything like that!! It then came out that he goes to the same school as Ella and Marley and he is a nightmare there, totally uncontrollable. We passed him in the car the other day, PJ begged me to run him over, gotta say I was tempted!!
What the little s**t did not know is that Joel’s Dad, Serg, is a ‘rigger’ (a steel frame building erector), sizeable and looks really useful and not to be messed with, his brother Aiden, 14, is a very fit looking lad, hairier than anyone I know looks about 16 , and also looks a mean as hell. They were going to pay the skate park a visit and Aiden is going to put the fear of God up this little lad and Serg is going along in case he wants to bring his brothers and or his Dad down. Serg was not too complimentary about our aboriginal friends I can tell you. Elvira, Serg’s missus said would Aiden really hit him, Serg said, ‘Yeah, if I tell him to!’
What was I doing whilst all this was going on I hear you ask, on the golf course where else, thank goodness!!!!
Other than our abbo, all the kids are so polite and friendly, they just have the best time and spend hours in the skate park.
Main benefits of being in Aveley are that the kid’s schools are so close by, we cycle every morning, but they are so close you could even walk. The kids are also so close to all their school pals, they have regular sleepovers at their house or they come to ours, they are all so nearby. It’s such a difference not having to take them in the car and pick them up afterwards, a real treat. They are on the verge of coming and going on their own soon, it’s very safe here, although the locals don’t think so, it is really.
We had a first weekend away recently, seems funny being in this sort of climate and going away for a break!
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| Tammy & Jackie, lazy Gits!! |
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| See any fish yet? |
We went just north of here, with Daren, Jackie, Scott & Tammy, their two kids Alex & Brook, to a place called Moore River, about an hour’s drive, aptly named as it’s the point where the Moore River meets the sea. We rented a beautiful home and went beach fishing Saturday and river fishing Sunday. None of us caught anything Saturday, (did get through a large quantity of beer though), but on Sunday, Daren caught 4, Brook, Scottie and Alex caught 2 each, Niamh caught 3, she can now cast herself and reels ‘em in on her own, the big girls didn’t fish and caught the same amount as the Peter’s, precisely nowt!!!
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| All aboard |
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| It needed 3 to get me in and 5 to get me out!!!!! Didn't realise I still had a black bit on the back of me 'ed. |
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| Scottie & Niamh. Beat that. No we didn't buy it in the bag, you use the bag to get a firm hold on the fish. Novices!!!!! |
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| Not another one Noo Ni? |
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| Dazza at work |
The scenery was terrific, there were buzzards flying overhead, and stingrays swimming literally 2mtrs from the shore, pelicans the size of sheep,
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| He was big!! |
parrots, just amazing. I should have bashed the stingray it on the head when I had the chance, ‘cus I was never going to catch a fish any other way!!!!
We have had one or two encounters with these
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| AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGg |
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| aaaaahhhhhhh |
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| aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh |
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