We’re in the cockpit, on the Isle of Wight, sipping French champagne, a gift from Marno’s boss, for doing so well in his new job. Yeah, we’re settling in quite nicely.



The weather is still mild – some days we’re in T-shirts, others we’re wearing our woollies. Brilliant blue skies continue to dazzle us – not what I expected at all, especially when we are asked by puzzled natives here, why on earth we decided to come to cold, grey England. They laugh when we tell them it’s exotic. Well, to us it is. Unique and foreign in an interestingly familiar kind of way. I sort of feel like I’m home here. Now and again we get a cold snap and get the feeling that Winter is going to nail us.



June, July and August we spent in Cornwall and Devon. Two very beautiful counties – quaint and old with plenty of countryside – popular English destinations for holiday makers. Our good friends, Sam and Louise, in Exmouth drove us around the seaside areas of Devon and through some very pretty country. It was here we came across our first 1 lane 2-way road. Quite common on the IOW. It’s actually a two-way road, but there’s room for only one car going one way, usually with steep, tall hedging or banks either side. Should a car approach from the oncoming direction, agreement is made through the windscreens and one driver reverses to the nearest widest part to pass. So narrow that side mirrors brush the hedges.



We also caught up with our cousins, Rebekah and Sharon, at Venn Farm in Sommerset. Sharon has a beautiful barn-conversion home and she’s done such a beautiful job with it.



Our good friends, Diane and Tony, also spent a couple of weekends spoiling us rotten. On one weekend we happened upon Totnes. Walking through town we recognized some vegetation as Australian – gums, bottle brush, wattle – and by chance came across a monument erected in 1864 in honor of William John Wills, a native of Totnes. The plaque commemorated his achievement as the first with Burke to cross the Australian continent. It’s amazing to see and touch Australian history at its roots. We also enjoyed Dartmouth, a quaint village that looked like something straight from a Brothers’ Grimm faerie story.



We’ve now seen most of the Isle of Wight by road and foot. It is truly a place of outstanding natural beauty. So many stunning views and vistas packed into this small island measuring less than 15 miles across. Ancient ruins and obelisks that toy with the imagination. Almost daily we drive past Queen Victoria’s ‘house’. Cemeteries that are centuries old. Churches that date back to the 1100’s. Castles, Roman villas.



All over England there are public rights of way – footpaths and bridleways that criss-cross through private and public property. The Isle of Wight has 500 miles of these paths, sign posted. I’ve only walked a couple of routes so far. A few times a week I enjoy a 40 minute meander along the Medina River path into Newport, the main town here. We feel so blessed to have settled on this island. There was a possibility that we could have been posted to the south of Wales with Marno’s work. Besides speaking another language, they have some of the biggest tides in the world there – 42 feet, yes, forty two. As it is we lock in and out of the marina we’re in, which is a very pretty spot, with only 15 foot tides. The river almost empties at low tide, so timing is all important.



We’ve made some great friends here, particularly among the other liveaboards. I never fully realised the social ties England has with Australia. I hear something about Australia on the evening news daily. Policies and solutions are often compared with England’s problems such as their growing concern with water supply. I don’t think many Australian’s realize the interest and camaraderie England has for Australia. It surprised me. Most people don’t need to ask me my nationality. They recognize the accent and ask which city I come from. I’m still getting used to the many and varied accents here, which are delightful. Pommies have a great sense of humour and a keen sense of irony that I hadn’t realized I’d missed. Makes me a little homesick.



We’ll never forget sailing on the Solent and into the Medina River. We arrived during Cowes Week. One of, if not the largest, boat and yachting festivals in the world. There were thousands of boats in full sail. Some racing, others practicing for upcoming races and events. The excitement and exhilaration palpable as we dodged, weaved and tacked.



The island celebrates so many festivals throughout the year; Jazz, Walking and Storytelling festivals, various boat shows and races, Mountain Bike festival, Ladies Day, Midsummer Fayre, various county shows, Steam Railway festival, Arts, Chocolate and even a Garlic festival, Fairy Trail hunts, Powerboat Festival, including the P1 Powerboat World Championship, Extreme Sports Festival, Bestival – a 3 day music feast, Cycling and even an International Scooter Rally. And so many other fetes and shows. They even have a 4 mile date walk where singles look for eligible others during a scenic meander.



A couple of weeks ago we watched, from front row seats of our cockpit, about 100 light aircraft race. They came from all over the world. It was quite breathtaking and exciting to watch them pitch, turn and overtake each other. We were obviously under a turning point in their flight path.



The swans have come for a visit again. Marno has become friendly with a pair, chook and chooky, who have learned to call for him for food, almost daily. I see they have been tagged. Apparently they belong to the Queen, who dines on two of them a year. I’ve been told they taste like chicken.



Marno’s always been good with animals. On a recent walk up to the Long Stone, an ancient obelisk dating back to 2000-3000 BC, Marno got friendly with some wild horses and fed them blackberries we’d picked along the track. Last month the berries were ripe for the picking, heavy and falling off the vines – they grow wild along the footpaths and we picked so many I made a pie heaped high with them.



Anyway, that’s a snapshot of our lives at the moment. We feel so blessed and rich. As our friends, Paul and Sheila would say, Que Richo!



We hope to have internet facilities at the marina here shortly so we can phone home and respond to email in kind.



I’m still wading through the red tape so I can work – legally. At the moment I’m having a ball volunteering at Oxfam twice a week. Other days I go out with Marno and enjoy the sites while he works. Such a hard life, but someone’s got to do it. Looks like I’ll be heading home for a month or so to get the necessaries and be back for a big year next year – Marno’s 40th in Jan and our 10th Anniversary in Feb.