Amanda and I comunicated by phone and through another very nice man who managed to get someone in the main checking in lounge to check Amanda in at the same time as he checked me in so we sorted that out, met up and shared a bottle of Sancerre - perfect way to start the holiday.

The trip itself was uneventful and to be honest I slept most of the way. Ian picked us up from the airport and we then sat up until about 3am with him talking very quietly so as not to wake Karen. Apparently once Isabella is asleep nothing will wake her so we only had to worry about waking her mother. Amanda sent us all to bed eventually and I managed - just - to get out of bed this morning before Amanda came to wake me up again. It is most handy having Amanda around to sort these things out for me. Giles, I presume you are having to cope with clocks or something in her absence and I hope you are managing

Met the lovely Isabella this morning. She is very cute and smiles a lot. She also looks very like Karen. Obviously, there is not too much else to say about her as she is a baby but I'll keep an eye on her in case she does something astounding and then I'll report back

We're all heading into town in the near future. We will buy more tapes for Frances's video camera especially as the tape we have brought with us now has Sam and Graeme on it from me practising and footage of Dad cutting the lawn last Summer which I think Ian may want to keep.

Will write more tomorrow. Its most sunny and lovely here!

Emma here (Amanda may write some too) So we went into Fremantle and wandered about for some time. Suitably disorganised, we forgot to take the lists of things we were meant to buy and all that will now need to be done on Saturday. We had lunch in the town and wandered some more. By the time we'd got our acts together, bought Karen shoes for the Christening, been to the shops etc.. it was early evening.

Dinner was a BBQ which we ate inside as it was "a bit cold outside!". Jules and Mags and Stu all came round and the evening was excellent. Good to see these guys again. Jules and Mags are Godparents with me so there was a certain amount of talk of all things God like.

The guys had all left by about 11.30pm and Karen turned in shortly after while we sat down for a quick chat before bedtime. At 5.45am we thought it might be a good idea to actually go to bed. Up again this morning after not enough hours sleep to learn that Karen was waking up with Isabella just as Ian reached the bedroom. Lots of tired people today including the lovely Isabella who seems to like parties and feels she should stay up for all day time ones at least. Surely there must be better things to do than sleep when there's people around?

Sam, I don't know if you remember but when we were last in Australia, we bought some bubble bath for you. It was a red round bottle with the Tweenies on it and clock hands. Ian and Karen have kept this for you but I told them that I thought they should just keep it for Isaballa now as you would probably say that you are too old for the Tweenies. I'm sure this must be right as the Tweenies are a baby programme aren't they and you are at school now and not really interested in them anymore. They said they would use it for Isabella and tell her that you had given it to her.

Today we are off to Perth and will give update tomorrow

Another lazy day in sunny Australia. Probably due to great tiredness we didn't really get moving until late in the day yesterday. Roz came round to spoil her granddaughter after lunch - she is looking in tip top health. If this leads you to believe that we might have achieved anything in the morning, you would be wrong. We sat about and chatted and Ian, Amanda and I walked to the shops to buy foccachia for lunch. After lunch Roz turned up. General playing with Isabella before her afternoon sleep and then we caught up on Roz's news. She has her brother arriving for a visit today and is most excited as she hasn't seen him for years. She's also heading over to UK quite soon to see her parents. I think this will be happening when Dad and Frances are in South Africa so, D & F if you are reading this, I think you'll miss her. All this jet setting by everyone!!

We were going to Perth so that Ian and Karen could drop into one of Ian's works general social gatherings which apparently take place every few months. They were going to show off Isabella and thank people for gifts. The event started at 4.30pm. At 4.30pm Isabella woke up from her afternoon sleep! By the time she was fed, changed, changed again - as you have to do with babies etc it was well after 5pm. Of course then we had to wait for Ian to get his act together which always seems to take SO long. Anyway, finally we made it to Perth and they went off to the works do and Amanda and I had a nose around the shops.

Meeting up with the guys about 6.30pm we had a look in more shops - Ian really is remarkably good about this sort of thing - and ate dinner in the town at a seafood bar. I'd forgotten how great it is to have fresh seafood available all the time - and such a variety.

Home for about 10.30pm Amanda claimed that she would definitely be in bed by midnight. For some reason that we can't quite fathom, Ian and I thought it would be a good idea to keep her up after this time - which we managed, everyone retiring around 1.30am. Luckily she had an excellent night's sleep. I say luckily as anyone who knows Amanda will know that she needs her beauty sleep or tempers can become a bit short. Of course, she and I did work out yesterday that we could sleep for 19 hours on the way home and decided to just make the most of our time here. She is doing very well and is keeping awake by making sure that she keeps her energy up with food and wine - excellent approach.

Today we are off into Fremantle to wander around the market and buy the food required for tomorrow for the post christening party. Not much else planned - we are taking it all slowly and casually. Graeme, I worked out my expenses this morning and its not too bad - well I think its not too bad but I suppose I'll have to wait until I return to discover if you feel the same.

Day 4

A bit later than usual for the update so apologies to anyone breathlessly awaiting updates on a daily basis. Yesterday Ian, Amanda and I wandered around Fremantle completing our shopping and buying supplies for the christening today. We ate dinner at a reasonable time and managed to get to bed before midnight. In a way this was a bad idea. After a good 8 hours sleep Amanda and I agreed this morning that we felt worse than we had the other days with hardly any sleep.

However, we were all ready in time to go to church for 9.30am which amazed me - even Ian made it! Just goes to prove that when he thinks something is important enough he will get his act in gear. The service itself was sung eucharist and Isabella and another baby were christened in the middle. The minister was a excellent person and Isabella was impeccably behaved. Many thanks from the Australian contingent to Tess, Graeme, Derek and Gav who manfully stayed up until 4 in the morning in Scotland to phone and wish Isabella a Happy Christening just as we returned from church!

Christenings in Australia are, like their weddings, approached in a very casual manner so most people went home to change into more casual and comfortable clothes before coming onto Ian and Karen's for brunch which was bacon and eggs and bucks fizz (Amanda and I bought two bottles each of Perrier Jouet from UK). As a result there are no official photos of parents and child or godparents and child but, honestly it is just too hot out here to wear formal clothes for any longer than you absolutely have to. Isabella had an excellent party and thoroughly enjoyed being the centre of attention. She normally has two sleeps a day and missed her morning sleep in the excitement but smiled and was extremely gracious until finally she had to have some shut eye. She has now been sleeping for about 2 hours - partied out!

Amanda and I leave tonight so this is the end of our adventures. When I read back over this I realise that we don't seem to have done very much but we have both loved every minute of our miniature holiday and it has been so fantastic to see Ian and Kaz and meet little Isabella. We did manage to get some photos (but not many) and we did manage to video some footage (but not much)but hey, we weren't here as a film crew, we were here to see the guys and that's exactly what we did.

I'm going to sign off now so that I can fit in some more chat with Ian and Kaz before we depart in a couple of hours. I am also going to stop as, as may be apparent, I have drunk too much fizz and am rabbiting on a bit now. Home again tomorrow and looking forward to our 19 hours sleep on the flight.

Over and Out