Well.

Writers Block.

What a MF. I can crap on OK, but I just need to get going. I mean I could start by saying hello or something lame like that, but I need something punchier. Something to draw the readers in, a hook if you will. Ok lets try again.

SEX!

No I have your attention, I can tell you that I am hanging here in Western Australia at my little brothers house trying to download some software to fix his PC, which has more infections than a large city hospital. But this isn't why I came all the way to Perth.

I am technically over here on a business trip, and since I have a meeting at 9 am on Monday morning, it was the choice of getting up at 4 am on Monday to get on a flight, or come over Friday night and spend the weekend with Andrew in this lovely city which I lived in for a good part of 2000/01.

The weekend hasn't been all PC maintenance. Friday night when I got over here we went for a quick beer at the Lucky Shag, a fine little bar over looking the Swan River before heading off to one of my favourite Perth haunts, the Royal India restaurant. Magnificent curry, good wine list and impeccable service - everything you could wan't from a local curry joint. Actually I must admit it was a bit wierd, I haven't been to this place for a few years, and all the curry joints I generally like to eat at in Adelaide are your laminex table take away type affair. So to have silver service with curry was a bit bizzare, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Saturday we decided to go for a spot of wine tasting in the Swan Valley. Our first stop was Houghtons. Nice venue - crap wine. I am not saying that all Houghton wine is crap, far from it, but when you to to a million dollar cellar door, you expect more on the tasting list than 7 wines in the $10-$14 range. I was really keen to taste the current vintage of their Frankland River Shiraz ($30), since Karen and I are currenlty enjoying a case of the '98. But no amount of wine talk BS would convince the pimply teenage girl behind the counter to give us a taste, so we all agreed that the take over by Constellation Brands had sent the Hardy Wine Company to the dogs and went to the next winery down the road. The name escapes me right now, which is not really surprising since we had lunch there and never got around to leaving until 5.

They had nice reasonably priced wines, home brewed beers, and a scenic cafe by a lake. It was a beautiful autumn Perth day and we just whiled away the afternoon drinking, chatting and enjoying the serenity. We spent Saturday night on the couch watching Return of the King on DVD and drinking some more beers.


Andrew and Nicole while away the afternoon 

Today the weather hasn't been as good, pretty windy with the odd spot of rain. We had breakfast in Freo, and then following a quick trip to the markets we spent the afternoon in possibly the best pub in Australia, the Sail and Anchor. There is just something about a pub that brews its own beers, and then serves it in glasses that could be best described as vases. If Perth has got it over Adelaide in anyway, it's that our pubs have poker machines and thier's have micro breweries. Thier's attracts serious beer lovers while ours attract feral people in track suits keen to blow this weeks dole money on the futile dream of "winning big". They have live music while we have pokie bleeps and bells.... OK I'll get down off the soap box, but you get the idea.

We are off to see "Super Size Me" at a preview screening tonight so I will report back on that later.