Day 653 - Perth, Australia

Day 653 - 23rd March 2007 +9:00 GMT

Jill and I drove down and picked Martin up and then we drove to fremantle, which is an area just south of Perth. We parked at the prison and decided to do a guided tour.

Fremantle Prison

The prison was open from 1855 - 1991.

Fremantle Prison

Our tour guide took us through the procedures of checking in new prisoners and then we walked through the kitchens and the the jail cells. They had the cells in sections so you could see how the cells changed each decade.

Prison Cell From 1860's

Main Cell Block

Martin In An Empty Cell

We then went out to the recreation area where the prisoners would be between 8am and 3pm every day.

Fremantle Prison

We were then taken into the execution chamber and told the stories of the people who were hanged here.

The Execution Chamber

We also got to visit the onsite church and then teh administraion area's. The tour was very good and lasted 75 minutes. When we finished at the prison we visited Fremantle Market, where they had lots fo stalls selling everything you can imagine.

Fremantle

We had some food here and then walked down to the roundhouse which is the oldest public building in Fremantle built in 1830.

The Old Roundhouse

The Roundhouse

From here you get views over the harbour and the city. We stopped for a coffee and then made our way back into Perth city. We all went back to the casino and spend several hours playing blackjack and craps etc. I won over $500 and left about midnight.

Day 652 - Perth, Australia

Day 652 - 22nd March 2007 +9:00 GMT

Had to get up very early...well for me. Picked Martin up from the train station at 7:15am and drove to Hammersly to play golf. We meet up with several of peters friends and six of us went to play a round of golf. Now I have onyl played golf a few times and have not played a round for almost a year. It was ladies day at the course and aroudn 40 ladies were teeing off in front of us so we decided to play the back nine first. I was horrific I could hardly hit the ball and had an awful nine holes. Martin and Peter were doing well with only one point between them. The front nine was a lot better I got round in 59, Martin in 62 and Peter in 50. We finished playing just after 1pm and came back to the house. We had soem lunch and headed into the city. I dropped Jill off at a shopping centre and Martin and I visited the casino. We played a bit of Blackjack and some Texas Hold em, Jill turned up a few hours later and we went to get some dinner, i was up by about $200. We then went to the open air cinema on site and watched the movie Deja Vu. It was really got and when the film finished we dropped Martin off at the hostel and headed home.

Day 651 - Perth, Australia

Day 651 - 21st March 2007 +9:00 GMT

Happy Birthday Dad.
Had a lazy morning waiting for Martin to arrive. When he eventually phoned we drove down to the station to pick him up and then drove to Whitford's shopping mall to get a few bits and pieces. We then drove up to Swan Valley. We first visited the chocolate factory and tasted all their chocolate again then we visited Lancaster Winery. Here Jill and Martin tasted there full range of wines but I was driving so none for me but I did get to taste their cheese's. We ended up buying a bottle of chenin blanc. We then drove onto Pinelli's where we stocked up on a few more flagons of wine and Jill and Martin did some tasting again.

Martin And I at the Ferrill Brewery

We then went onto the Ferrill Brewery for a quick beer before driving home. Got home and phoned my father to wish him a happy birthday then we all spent the night chatting and Peter and Sarah cooked some food.

Day 650 - Perth, Australia

Day 650 - 20th March 2007 +9:00 GMT

Had to get up early and drive to Perth airport as my friend Martin had flown over from England. His plane was delayed by over an hour so Jill and I waited at the airport for him. When he arrived we drove to Hillary's Boat Harbour and had some breakfast at the cafe on the beach. We then came back to the house for a couple of hours until it was time for Martin to check into his hostel. I drove Martin back intot he city centre to the YHA where he was staying, Martin dropped of his backpack and then came back to the house. Sarah and Peter came home and we all sat and had dinner outside. Martin and I then visited Burswood casino. I played a little blackjack and then had a go at roulette, Sarah had given me the number 17 so I placed a bet and it came in on the first spin. Then played some more blackjack and won $400. Then played carribean stud poker and lost about $50 but was one card away from a royal flush which would have won me over half a million dollars. Got back from casino at 2:30am so went straight to sleep.

Day 649 - Perth, Australia

Day 649 - 19th March 2007 +9:00 GMT

Got up late and spent most of the morning in the house. Pete had a day off work so we went shopping for some computer stuff for Peter and some supplies to create a lockable box for my car boot. I bought some MDF and some hinges and padlocks.




Stage 1 - Measure Boot

When we got back Pete got to work on building a secure lockable box in the boot of my car, as it is a station wagon we did not want anyone to be able to see what is in the boot as we would have our rucksacks and all our personal belongings in there.


Stage 2 - Build Box

So Peter cut up some MDF and made a two part lockable parcel shelf with some supports.


Stage 3 - Fix Box In Boot

Then Pete riveted my petrol flap on the car. The rest of the afternoon we just sat around and relaxed. We had some dinner and then a quiet evening in front of the TV.

Day 648 - Perth, Australia

Day 648 - 18th March 2007 +9:00 GMT

Went over to Wangara market with Peter in the morning to buy the weekly fruit and vegetables. we had a look around the rest of the market but it was mostly tat. We then came back to the house and helped clean the house. I then sat and watched the Australian Grand Prix. Sarah was playing hockey in the afternoon so we had a lazy afternoon watching comedy on TV. Sarah's friend Denise came over in the evening and we all had some dinner. I spent a few hours trying to chat to my family at home as it is Mothers Days in the UK.

Day 647 - Perth, Australia

Day 647 - 17th March 2007 +9:00 GMT

We went to Joondalup as Sarah had a dentist appointment. Peter, Jill and I did a bit of shopping and then we drove down to Claremont as the shop Peter had been working on was finally finished and open to the public. So we looked around Hunter Adams which is a furniture shop which had period and regal furniture, all the furniture is unique to Western Australia the first of it's type. It is the sort of shop where everyone will love something but you will not like everything. It has silk covered sofa's and gold leafed chairs and Pursian rugs. We had a glass of champagne with the owners and then headed back to the house.

Jill and I In The Botanical Gardens

We had some lunch in the outside dining area and then we headed to the botanical gardens for a a game of crazy golf and billiard golf.

Jill Playing Crazy Golf

We had 18 holes of crazy gold then we had some tea and scones in the cafe then we played billiard golf which is like crazy golf but you have to play the ball of a rail before you can pot it.

Sarah, Peter, Jill and I

We then went home and Sarah and Peters friends came over and we spent the evening playing a 1980's Music quiz DVD game which i was extremely awful at.