Emile, whose project it was to put together the documentary of our relocation and fruitarian lifestyle, and David, his well trusted camera man, were with us from the 6th of December until the 19th, when they left us to drive back down to Sydney, for their scheduled flight out of here back to the US on the 23rd..

We've not yet heard from them since leaving, but our internet activity is down to a record minimum (access is via an ultraslow very flaky telephone line, dial up connection here on the farm), and I should really write them a short note to find out how their return trip and flight were..

Anyhows, on arrival they hired this convertible sports car at Sydney airport, but the deal was it had to be returned to the same airport, otherwise they perhaps may have stayed an extra day or 2 or so filming, and then flown down to sydney from cairns.. I didn't envy them leaving and driving down again in such a short space of time. they would have had to do a fair bit of night driving too, to make it in time.

in their convertible, they were able to get some road shots in too, filming us from both behind and in front, and a few overtaking sort of shots..surprisingly they only got pulled over twice by the police (both times in Queensland), and each time they were let off lightly with a warning, I suspect the attitude of the police may have been slightly harsher had they not been so presentable and more hippylike of appearance..

still, the good thing, for us, was that we were able to drive on and not get involved with the police stuff. I'm not a fan of police, despite no criminal record, and being such a good boy and all that, I still find their presence intimidating, and dislike their authorative tones they brandish.

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but Emile first heard of fruitarianism when he ran into Julian on some backpacker place somewhere in central or South America.. Julian, who I had met briefly in central Victoria, roughly 2 years previously, had been on a raw vegan diet, but been inspired to move to all fruit (there's an interview with him on my main blog).. Anyhow, Emile soon came up with the idea to make a doco about fruitarianism, and asked Julian if he would be willing to participate.. Julian decided he was slightly too camera shy, and put Emile in touch with me, and the rest is history.

I kind of would have liked to have gotten to know E & D better, but their focus was mainly on getting whatever footage they could, in order to later piece the mosaic together.. In fact, I believe, all up, they took well over 40 hours of film, and the thesis is only supposed to be an estimate of 20 minutes.. I'm certainly pleased that it's not I that is faced with the task of being the button monkey who has to edit it all together in some coherent sense, but very pleased that the doco is being made, and that we had 2 such open minded young guys that were up for the task!

On arrival here, at this place called fruitopia, we were greeted by Ian, already briefly mentioned in a previous post, and his dog Shelly. The farm was otherwise deserted, just days earlier, it had been buzzing with activity as roughly 25, 80/10/10 raw fooders, zoomed in on the place for some kind of, going to perhaps be a regular occurance, raw vegan gathering, organized I gather, by are old friend Harley, his partner Freelea, and a 3rd guy, Nick, the yoga guy..

Well, although they had disappeared from the scene, over the course of the next few days, the 801010'ers slowly began reappearing again.. The following day, a young american guy named Ryan strolled through together with Michelle (canadian, whose still here on a sort of wwoofing basis) and Chiharo, a cooked japanese traveller also wwoofing and unconnected to the raw vegan happening.. .

Shortly after, Harley, over the space of about a week, Freelea and Nick turned up, possibly not quite in that order, another guy named Venant, and Greg and his partner Claire.. We missed out on meeting Darrick who was also one of the guys I interviewed on my blog a while ago, although rumour has it he may be returning before he leaves Australian shores again.

Well, having so many raw vegans turn up eating such a high percentage fruit diet, was fodder for the camera, and E & D got in several hours of interviews with whoever was willing. Probably Harley being the most vocative, as he seems to be born into the whole public speaking thing. (Actually, several of the mentioned names turned up after E&D had left, but they still got their fair share of slightly differing raw food ideas.. Including a lengthy interview with Ian who, as mentioned in a previous post, is on his own version of a raw food diet, based on some guy named vonderplanet, or something somewhat similar.. He basically eats rotten fermented meat, sometimes road kills (kangaroos, possums etc), and probably mostly organic store bought, and allowed to rot.. Raw milk, eggs etc..

He's sort of being influenced by the french instincto movement too, and doesn't mind the occasional maggot, or worm infested piece of fruit.

I look at his way of eating as pretty bizarre, and am not surprised that his body got into the toxic state it did, leading him to seek medical intervention.. But he sees things differently, and somehow his body must have built up an immunity to the e-colis and salmonella that probably thrive within..

Actually though, he's a pretty good guy, and in many ways very open minded and nonjudgemental, so I enjoy his company, despite our current differences in dietary outlook.

Actually, too, I'm sort of beyond really making a big deal about what other people eat or don't eat. I understand that apart from spreading the message some, there is little I can do about others' choices, and understand too, that we are really each of us responsible only for our own actions..

Interestingly, Harley has a different stance on that one, and believes it's our responsibility to get out there and tell everyone that they are erring.

Partly I can see his point, and really admire the guy for doing what he does, and taking the approach he does.

Our slight differences toward diet, (i'm thinking now of the 801010ers and Kveta and I), sparked many long and interesting debates about what was right and what wasn't.. We believe they tend to overeat, over drink and push their bodies to extremes that ultimately aren't healthy, they believe we are undernourished, dehydrated, and lethargic, and are highly skepitcal as to whether a solely fruit diet can be maintained over an extended period of time..

I enjoyed the challenge of our discussions, and may write more of them at later dates..

I've moved away from the subject of the post.. Well.. I didn't really know where I was headed when I started writing..

Think I'll end now.

Peace,
Mango

Well, we left our sydney abode as planned, on the 9th December.. Emile and David, the US doco makers, had arrived in Australia, 2 or 3 days before that, and had had time to film a little of our then suburban surroundings, plus various bits of our habitual lifestyle, followed by packing and final steps toward fleeing the nest, including goodbyes to our neighbours, who all expressed their well wishes, and many, apparent surprise when questioned on their thoughts that we just lived on fruit alone, often acting as if it was complete news to them, despite us having many times mentioned it in passing.. I guess having the camera in ones face makes one more willing to take note..

Anyhow, the day before departure, Emile, (whose project is to knock this documentary together as part of his thesis at Standford), invested in 2 cheapo, but adequate mobile phones , and a couple of equally fitting pay as you go plans, such that for the journey up, we would be able to communicate if need be, while driving our 2 cars.. (they had hired a car at sydney airport, for the duration of their short 3 week stay here)..

We left Sydney, I think it was a Wednesday morning, crossing over the Harbour bridge for hopefully the final time, and headed northbound into the relative uncertainty of the unknown..

The journey was mostly pretty noneventful, with our main focus on getting up here.. However, we did stop off on a few places, like tropical fruitworld, (the big avocado), and a couple of other "big" places.. Emile and David forever tangling themselves in wires to capture the moment on tape, which meant spontaneity often had to take a back seat..

Sleeping, for us, me and Kveta, Kveta and I, was mostly done in roadside lay overs off the motor way.. in our once trusty sturdy tent.. (alas, on arrival here, all 6 poles just splintered on us, rendering the tent useless, until we possibly find replacement poles, which we haven't put that great an effort into yet)..

we'd often talk with people, other travellers, as we pulled over, and whenever they were able, the film crew were there to film the interplay of words..

The car was pretty full, with pretty much most of what we needed and desired to take with us, and the only thing we left behind was kvetas wheelchair, which I don't think had been used once since I've been here.. That was left with our neighbour Brian, who stored it in his spare bedroom, and I guess Kveta may pick it up some time in 2010, possibly in conjunction with a European flight back to the CR to visit her family..

Anyhows.. the journey took us roughly 6 days, and roughly 2700, 2800 kms.. Which is sort of what we'd estimated..

On arriving in Cairns, we more or less immediately headed up to Mareeba, where we managed to find this place we're currently staying at.. It's called Fruitopia, and is currently owned by a guy named Clinton who probably spends most of his time down in Adelaide where I gather he owns an organic fruit stall of sorts, with possibly a mish-mash of other stuff that one might expect in most health food stalls..

He wasn't here on arrival, but we were greeted by the caretaker, Ian, a pretty nice guy on a pretty weird diet.. He was suffering at the time with a rather infected throat complaint, rendering it unable for him to really swallow anything, including liquids.. He was quite welcoming despite his clearly dehydrated weakened state, and we were able to set up camp at the back of one of the houses.. However, once we'd done that, I soon realised the state of the tent poles, and gave up all hopes of somehow gluing it back together, so we ended up moving in to one of the rooms of one of the houses, where we're still living, surrounded by all the stuff from the car which has been emptied out around us.

(After much thought about what the right thing to do was, Ian finally opted on getting medical help for his throat, and after a quick ambulance trip into cairns hospital and a short sharp treatment of antibiotics coupled with some syringe type throatal intervention, he was soon back able to swallow and slowly regaining his vitality.. - More on his choice of diet later...)

Anyhows, we are still living in the same room. Clearly it's not exactly what we were looking for, and just a temporary place to be for us, as we put out the message, when we can, to whom we can, that we are looking for our own private piece of paradise..

We have certain criteria about the place we ultimately desire to be living, and trust that the path to it's hideaway is being manifested as I write. Kvetas mother, having countless times read our fortune in the tarot cards, is without doubt that it awaits us as eagerly as we it..

I've written down a manifestation sheet of what we are looking for:

LAND - ASAP (Please!!) With:

1. Some well established fruit trees.
2, Room for plenty more.
3. Backing on to state forest.
4. Creek, or Dam, or both, with easy access.
5. Gravity feed water. (not reliant on the national water grid with it's fluoride and more chemical poisonings)
6. Flat smooth ground, not rough or too stony.
7. Close to friendly fruit (tree) growers (for easy access to food we aren't growing ourselves).
8. Good soil. Ideal for growing whatever fruits we wish..
9. No Feral pigs, and no swarms of biting insects.
10. Tropical climate with altitude enough to avoid the tsunami.
11. Simple old style, 2 bedroom (or more), house, with a nice covered wooden decking looking on to the garden.
12. Phone line with broadband access.
13. Garage or carport.
14. Privacy for practise of naturism, and free of noise pollution.
15. Easily affordable, or FREE.

OK.. I guess there is room for some degree of flexibility, and not all the wrinkles need to be ironed out immediately, but that's basically what we are looking for, and after already searching around for the past couple of weeks, and getting the message out there, we do realise that this is one of the more difficult manifestations we've requested, so understand too our need to practise patience, and attempt to remain positive.

We don't by any means have money to buy such a piece of property, so we're looking initially toward rental, but we're also open to things coming to somehow manifest the money one might need in order to invest in such an ideal place.

There is no greed, we feel that such living is everyones birthright, and we attempt to wait as patiently as capable in order for it to be returned to us.

I have heaps more to write, but that'll have to wait for another day..

hugs,
mango.

hi all..

just a short note that our laptop crashed on us..

we took it in for repairs immediately, and after believing that it would be fixed after a few days, have just discovered that it would actually take another 1 or 2 weeks. I have the laptop back again as we have to decide whether or not it is worth repairing..

Meanwhile, this is my first time on the internet since the laptop broke, (i'm in an internet cafe!) and my email account is pretty full with stuff for me to read through and process..

I'm afraid it will have to wait, as I'm reluctant to stay here too long. So apologies, once more, for unanswered emails/comments etc..

meanwhile, kveta and i are still plotting our sydney escape that should become an actuality before the 10th of december..

kveta has also not been on the internet since the laptop went on us.. I had a couple of blog entries queued to go (on my main blog), that were posted automatically, so it may have appeared as if i was here, online, but actually wasn't..

anyhow's.. no telling when we will be back in cyberland, but we will be making efforts to get back online as soon as possible..

peace,
mango.

Watched this very moving sad film yesterday..

Something called Rabbit Proof Fence..



It's a true story from some 60 odd years ago of 3 young aboriginal children that were forcibly separated from their mothers by the state, in a barbaric attempt (that only ended in 1970!) to somehow eradicate the aborignal race, through interbreeding them with white people..

The girls are taken over 1500 kms from their homeland, where they are then imprisoned with a whole bunch of other kids suffering the same fate..

Through bush survival skills, these 3 girls escape the home they are forced to live in, and miraculously (2 of them) find their way back to their mother..

It's an incredibly sad movie that had me crying through the most of it, and even now, just thinking of it, the tears are welling up again..

I find human behaviour often extremely incomprehensible..

peace,
mango.

Last Tuesday (20th October), for the first time this season, I went for a swim in the sea..

As usual, for the time of year, the sea was a little cold, but nevertheless, still very refreshing..



Kveta was visiting a friend on that day, so the following day, we set out together to another local beach, and kveta had her first swim of the season too..

It's great to get back to beach life, and warmer weather, and hopefully we'll get a few more such days in before we finally up and leave our home here..

yes.. we are still making slow but sure headway toward leaving here, and setting forth northbound to the tropics..

tentatively we are currently thinking around the 10th of december, so we'll be there before the silly season starts..

giant butterfly outside our door

Meanwhile, still that ongoing sifting through things and, often reluctantly, ridding ourselves of material things which we could likely later make us of, but there's really just no simple practical way to relocate stuff to our new home.. especially considering that we don't fully know where we will settle yet..

a lot of unknown ahead of us, and a good exercise in faith.. We will basically be homeless for a while..

We reckon it will take us roughly one week to drive to the area we wish to settle (somewhere inland from cairns).. And a clearly unknown time before we find a place to call home..

Wish us luck!
peace,
mango.

It's drizzling outside, and I just checked the weekly weather forecast for Sydney. Here's what the next few days are predicted to look like:


Wet and unusually cold for the time of year..

But after weeks of dry weather, the garden is surely rejoicing.. We're not really gardening much at all recently, seems like little point as we are counting down the weeks to leave, and no doubt once we have gone, the councel or whoever takes over our little one bedroomed flat, will likely transform what we have anyhow.

When we do garden, we like to do so in a random sort of way, encouraging the biodiversity that such methods support.. Also, we are big fans of mulch, so watering is rarely necessary at all. (besides, all our compost gets buried in small shallow holes, effectively watering the garden from under the ground, as our food/fruit scraps are still very much full ofliquid when buried).


Having fun with digital images.. (click to enlarge)
It seems well likely that we may still be in Sydney in December, but rest assured, we have seen our last winter here, and this coming summer will be our last one too.

Little else to report.

Progress is being made.

hugs,
Mango.

We woke up yesterday morning to find sydney blanketed in an eerie orange/red glow, and like many others, presumed the aliens had come to fetch us..

But no such luck.. looks like we're stuck down here a while longer still..

Meanwhile, it turns out the orange haze was from severe winds in the northern territories and southern australian desert, that drifted over to NSW covering much of it with this weird dust reminiscent of the dust I used to see regularly in Spain (presumably transported from the african sahara), only the orange haze here was incomparably thicker than anything I've ever witnessed before..

See pictures of this peculiar happening here:

Sydney's Strange Orange Skies

People were wearing masks out on the street, and emergency wards were flooded with sudden hordes of overweight mucusly clogged up asthma sufferers..

Also, yesterday, Zalan got back from his Far North Queensland trip, and spent a few hours with us before getting back in to his car and heading south toward his home in central Victoria, - Hepburn Springs..

Meanwhile, too, paperwork and progress headway is slowly being made toward reaching our goal of leaving Sydney.. I have been to the immigration office, and had my passport stamped with my shiny new full residency permit, I've received my National Insurance Medicare card, and I've also gotten myself an Australian (NSW) Driving License.. It's only valid for 1 year, but pointless me getting one that lasts longer as once we change State to Queensland, I'll have to get myself a new license anyway.

Slow progress is also being made within our appartment, and the liberation of the many material junk stuff we have still remnant from our bygone market sundays..

today the strange orange fog has complettely lifted, and the day's back to a normal blue sunny colour, - just like it should be..

hugs,
Mango.

Funny how one day walking on the lawn is a shear pleasure for ones bared feet, and then suddenly, overnight, that self same lawn becomes so painful to walk on..

Yes, it's bindi season again, and the bindi spikes are suddenly sharpened, pointed and well, just generally spikey.. And such a contrast! - In the season when their spikes aren't out, the bindi plant is very soft under the feet, and a positive delight to walk on..


Green Tree Frog, smaller than half my thumb, Found in the reeds
(Click to Enlarge)
The frogs are out singing a lot. I discovered this little fellow hiding in the long grass on the local golf course - He was no bigger than half my thumb!!

This is the same frog:


Cute tiny green tree frog
(Click to Enlarge)
Also the golf course is currently teaming with new little bunnies. I crossed paths with the one in the picture below while crawling through the bushes. He sat startled for a while, allowing me to get 2 meters away and take a photo of it, before hopping off into the undergrowth..

Sadly though, the golf course management regularly cull them by spreading the painful cruel death of mixamatosis. Crazy as they are no harm to anyone, and keep their digging to the bushes creating an inconvenience for noone..


Wild Baby Rabbit
(Click to Enlarge)
Kveta and I are excited about leaving Sydney, and making slow headway toward that goal. The car has a cracked windscreen which we need to get fixed. Now that I have my full residency, I need to get an ozzy driving license. We have an apartment half full of junk still, that we are slowly sorting through and getting rid of.

It'll happen..

I've been hearing news about my little niece who's growing up fast and is very clever.. I miss her heaps and feel sad about not seeing her grow up.. I'm thinking I may return to Europe in 2011 for a visit, but would love to see close family migrate here to Australia, and hope that that they be a future possibility.. 


Amelia, 1 month ago
(Click to Enlarge)
Fruitwise we've got 2 boxes of oranges, some cuces, tomatoes, avos, watermelons, grapefruits and 2 durians..

Life's good,
Mango.

Hi all.

great news for us here...

I just received a letter from the department of immigration who say they are pleased to inform me that my request for permanent residency has been granted!!!

Well they may be pleased, but we are ecstatic!



YIPPPPEEEE!
I get to stay down under!!!!

hugs,
mango.

On Monday mornings, I drive out to Daceyville..


This is the cottage garden
Only takes me between 10 and 15 minutes to get there, and once there, I do an hour or 2 of gardening with Dulcey.. She's this elderly lady who owns a small cottage there, and each year she enters into one of those cottage garden competition things.

I've been helping her with her garden these past months, to get ready for this years competition and the images here I took yesterday..


Pink flower in Dulcey's garden
As you can see, the flowers are in full bloom right now..

Each ear, she gets rid of most of her flowers and turns the garden over ready for the next year, which's what I was doing there to begin with, and then planting all the new flowers..

She normally wins, and has done for the past decade or so, except last year she came 2nd.. She is getting on in years, and finds it difficult to work as much as she used to, so that's where I came into her life..


Yellow flower in Dulcey's garden
After Dulceys' I often walk across the road to another woman called Carmen, and do a little gardening for her too, but I prefer working with Dulcey as she's more hands on than Carmen..

Hi all..

Just had my friend Zalan drop by for a couple of days.. He's a borderline fruitarian on a raw vegan predominantly fruit diet, living in central Victoria.. He drove up here, and has left his car parked outside while he spends a few weeks up in the Cairns area.. (he took the quick option getting there, and flew up a couple of days back)..

Me and Zalan, about to enjoy a durian feast

The last time we met, was in Victoria, around Christmas 2006, New Year 2007.. We seem to bump into each other ever couple of years or so..

Zalan's currently focusing on getting a book written on vegaculture.. That's what we'd like to think of as the next step after permaculture, and stands for (permanent/sustainable) vegan agriculture - Basically food production that promotes biodiversity, sustainability and free from any form of animal exploitation, including the usage of slaughtered animal byproducts such as dried blood and bone meal that are frequently used as ingredients in agricultural soil..

His website is: VegaDev.com.au

I finally bought a memory card for the new camera I got a few weeks back, and this time it works fine.. This is the first video... It's Kveta singing..

Well, August the 13th 2007 was the day I lodged the application for my permanent residency... That's 2 years and 2 days ago..

Officially, the application takes 2 years to process, and thus the acceptance date for my full residency is to be 13th August 2009... Only trouble is, as I think I mentioned in a previous post, it may be up to another 90 days before they actually tell me whether I have it or not..

Kveta in our little garden

At least the worst of the wait is over now, and, touch wood, all of the paperwork.. So should be just a question of sitting back and waiting as patiently as we can, for that letter of confirmation to arrive..

OK.. recent changes.. and updates.. Not many. Sun's shining.. Oh, I've recently been in touch with a documentary film maker in the US who wants to make a doco on fruitarianism, and is considering featuring kveta and myself in it..


me reading

Filming wouldn't be until end of this year, and I've told the guy we've really no idea exactly where we'll be by then, but that we are otherwise very keen to be a part of his project.

Also, a guy I used to work with some 20 years ago, Bobby, has generously donated some paypal funds which will go toward getting a newer laptop for us.. This one is on it's last legs and far too slow..

Peace to all,
Mango.

Well, kveta got back punctually. No delays, and all in one piece though of course jet-lagged and with swollen ankles from the journey and over exposure to the air conditioning of the plane (she reacts strongly to air-con)..

That was already 6 days ago, last Thursday morning. Since then we've just been relaxing, taking it easy, and feasting on the occasional durian.



For the weekend, we set to work finalising those immigration papers I received nearly 2 months ago. The deadline for getting them done and filled out is in about 2 days from now, so it as a bit of a last minute rush thing..

Anyhow, we had them filled and signed by a GP witness by Sunday afternoon, and the following day, (Monday, 2 days ago), I sent them off by Platinum Express (recorded, registered next day delivery). So hopefully that'll be the last of the paperwork and it's just a question of waiting for that certificate saying I'm a permanent resident..



I can tell you that it is a great relief to finally have those papers out of my hands and sent of..

Actually, looking through my old paperwork, I see that it was 13th August 2007 that we lodged the residency application, which means, I think, that it'll be the 13th August this year (in just a little over a week) that if all goes well, my permanent residency will be valid from. Excepting that I may not know that for up to 90 days from the date those papers we just sent are received by immigration in Melbourne..



Kveta and I still haven't taken any new pictures since she got back, and the photos she took while in the Czech Republic are still on the camera and USB stick she took with her. We'll get to downloading and uploading some soon enough.. and while still on the subject of cameras, the new one I bought recently is still missing a memory card and i'm still unsure if the problem is with the camera or the card.

I had my 48th birthday a few days ago.. We're not really in to birthdays and that kind of stuff, so no big deal.. The sun's shining and the future is looking bright.

I'm waiting impatiently for Kveta's return..

She gets back tomorrow morning..

Sitting on the beach waiting for kveta

Seems like she's been gone for ages!!

Been cleaning our little flat. Still have heaps of junk here left over from the markets.. We'll have to make a decision on whether to throw it all out or try and sell more of it..

The new camera we got is working ok, except that i believe the problem with the memory card may not have been a memory card problem at all.. It could be that the problem is with the camera.. We'll find out soon.

Spoke briefly with Kveta on Wednesday (evening my time, morning her time).. I've been trying to find out how to make 100% free international calls via the internet, with varying degrees of success.. the trouble is that there are several websites that let you make free calls, but they all appear to be just one off trial calls that last between 5 and 10 minutes..

So we ended up chatting via google chat for a while instead.. that is until my internet connection broke..

She's doing ok, and will update her journal once she gets back here and has a few days to settle..

Well, today I was going to go sell some balls, but it turned out wet and rainy again, so i gave up on that idea, and been sitting at the computer all morning reading..

That is, until the postman got here, and delivered me a package from Sweden..

It was a present from a recent contact I've made on the internet, a guy named Tord Lyseving who's been a fruitarian for 25 years already, and written several books on the subject.. Mostly in Swedish, but also this most recent one in English.

I haven't started on it yet, but it's sitting next to me waiting to be read..

Strange, I thought I knew (or knew of) most of the long term fruitarians out there, and I'd never heard mention of Tord before, - this despite the books he's written, - and only discovered him serendipituously through searching around for forums in norwegian about fruitarianism..  He was the subject of a thread on a swedish forum, which I briefly allowed myself to get sucked in to.

Tord has agreed to be interviewed on my main blog, and only yesterday I sent him an interview to fill out, so I'll publish that when it gets back to me..

Great stuff! I love reading fruitarian related books, and am eager to get started on this one.. I still haven't read Anne's book, but look forward to doing so one day too..

Not sure how you can go about ordering his book(s), but I'll find out soon, and include a review of the book and where one can order a copy, on my main blog.. - once i've done reading it that is..

Hugs for everyone,
mango.

That memory card for the camera never turned up. The seller didn't answer my emails, and a little research showed me that he/she had disappeared from Ebay.

Looking back toward the mainland from the island

I presumed that I had been scammed, and after contacting help on ebay, initiated a refund request via paypal...

Shortly after, I ordered another card, this time slightly smaller, but still a pretty chunky 16gb, also through Ebay..

Looking out to sea

Anyhow, I'd counted my losses on the first card, figuring that it's unlikely that paypal would ever refund me as the seller appeared to have disappeared from paypal too.. But then, to my surprise, yesterday morning I got another email from the original seller saying a new card is in the post..

Well, I'm not holding my breath, but possibly there are 2 memory cards on their way here..

Walking on our local little island

As for the immigration stuff, I'm not sure if I said before, but we're having to delay sending any of the paperwork in until Kveta gets back..

This because some of the forms have to be signed by a witness, so not really possible for Kveta to get done overseas.. Kveta gets back on the 30th of this month, 19 days from now, and the forms have to be in by the 3rd of August, so just enough time, and once more it'll be such a relief to get them done fully and sent in.

We may not be able to leave Sydney as quickly as we'd hoped as it looks like it can take up to 3 months more before I am told one way or another whether I can stay..

Next to an old shipwreck

I think it would break my heart if I was told to leave,  and I have no idea what would happen if that were to be the case, so I'm choosing not to go there.. Instead, on the bright side, even if it takes them another 3 months to give me an answer, the official date of my full residency would still be in mid August this year.. I already know that if all goes well, I will apply for citizenship as soon as I am able. Not exactly sure if that would be 2, or 3, years after the granting of my full residency..

Kveta is currently in some small town called decin (still in czech rep), visiting her aunt (mother's sister), and on some weekend course for drawing.. She gets back to her parents place on monday, and because of time difference, I'll not be talking to her until Tuesday morning her time (early evening my time)..

Nothing much else to report.

hugs for all,
mango.

Well.. the days tick by, and our new camera has arrived, and these past couple of days I've been taking it out with me on my long walks.. Here's on of my first pictures

Playing with myself

I'm a little restricted with it at the moment, as I Ebay ordered a 32gb memory card to use with it, which seems to not work, so I've asked for a replacement that's supposedly on it's way already..

Anyhow, meanwhile, the camera has some minimal built in memory which allows me to take about 10 photos before it gets full, and that's what I've been playing with..

Looking out to sea

I'm pretty impressed with it so far, it's a 12mp camera, but because of the current memory constrictions, i've decreased it to 5mps.. and well, i'm really just scratching the surface with it's capabilities.. It looks like it's capable of all manner of fun stuff - a big thick manual I've yet to read!..

These past few days I've been out a lot, walking along the headlands, enjoying the coastline, and occasionally watching the passing whales.. Today I witnessed a pod of about 5 or 6 passing by a few hundred meters from the shore..

At my stall, selling golf balls

2 days ago, I was walking for roughly 6 hours.. I could hardly believe I was out for so long as the time just flew past..

As a consequence of my enjoying the outdoors more than normally, I've been neglecting my mangodurian blog, and frankly feeling a little tired of it.. I feel like I've pretty much said all I've wanted to say in it, and feel I should slowly begin to let go of it..

Well, it's not like I've really said everything that I have to say, but I feel I would be better off channeling my thoughts into book form, saying what I have to say, getting it out there, and letting the world make of it what they want..

Watching a pod of whales swim by

I don't think I've any plans to stop this journal.. I kind of like the idea of recording my life for prosperity.. Taking more pics and videos etc..

I don't know.. perhaps I am just momentarily tired of the internet..
peace,
mango.

Hi all,

After more than a week of off and on rain, I think it's finally stopped.. The sun's shining outside, and I've just been for a long walk gathering golf balls in the bushes..

Not many to be had at the moment, as the players have no doubt been shunning the wet outdoors too, but I still managed to find about 70 on a 3 hour hunt..

Kveta is currently staying with her niece, Romana, (her brother's daughter), and her (Romana's) son.. (still in the Czech Republic, of course).. She's got the camera at the moment (we've only got the one between us), so I've not been taking any new pictures since she's been gone.. But here're a few from a couple of years back, before I'd left England, with me and Amelia..

Me and my little niece in 2006

I'm missing taking pictures, so over the last week, I've been doing some online research to find a new camera, and finally decided on one that I've ordered from Ebay.. It's a relatively new model from panasonic that's supposed to be shock, water and dustproof..

It's gotten pretty good reviews, so I'm excited to see it in action.. It'll be a while though, as I've yet to pay for it, due to waiting on a bank to paypal transfer..

Amelia and me on the campello beach

Another thing the camera is supposed to do, is take HD (high definition) videos, which in all likelihood will soon be the norm in digital cameras, but i think this is the only point and shoot camera, that's waterproof, that does that at the moment..

So hopefully there'll be more videos forthcoming on youtube once I've gotten the hang of it.. - Anything's gotta be better than the one's we've got on there at the moment.. (I'm still not too keyed on how to edit videos, and it always takes me a lot of time trying to figure it out)..

Summertime fun, Spain, 2006

peace,
mango.

Mid winter here.. daytime temps have been averaging between 13 and 16 degrees these past few days.

I'm still alone here while Kveta is on her hols.. She's just returned from 2 weeks in Turkey with her mother, and is back in the Czech Republic again.. I spoke with her on the phone last night, she had a reasonable time, although the sea was dirty where they were, and a little too choppy. Fruit choice was good enough though, but I think she's decided to go either to Italy or Greece next time, as overall it wasn't exactly what they had hoped.

View from a hill on Phuket Island, Thailand - 2004

About a week ago, I emailed Anne in Queensland, and ask her some questions about this whole immigration thing (she's from more or less the same part of England as I am, and is about 2 and half years ahead of me, in terms of being here in Australia and dealing with all the bureaucratic nonsense.. - She's already got her full residency, and is even eligible for her citizenship already).

Anyhow, she put my mind at rest a little about this whole procedure, explaining that things basically seemed to be running well.. And then 3 days ago, I got another fat envelope from immigration, with a list of 5 more things that I need to get done.. I felt nauseous flicking through it all.. I'm not sure why I get so stressed when faced with this paperwork.. Perhaps it's because there's this nagging fear that my application might be refused.

View from the top of the small mountain above tiger cave monastery.
Near Krabi, Thailand - 2004

Talking with Kveta helped me relax some, with her reassuring me that it was basically our destiny to be together in tropical Australia, and that her mother, the renowned Tarot Card reader of the Czech Republic (a talent that Kveta has inherited), says that the cards are all good for us. But that doesn't stop me cursing  the folly of humanity that prevents us from travelling as freely as natured and the great white spirit intended us to.

I wonder when earthlings will finally grow up and move from the dark side into the light....

Born on this day, 1936, that's 26664 days ago, and makes her 73 today..

Mum in Spain - Christmas 2004

She's currently in Spain with Dad, for another 10 days or so..

Happy birthday mum!

Haven't seen either of them since I left England in November 2006,and no idea when I'll see them again..

Kveta's currently in Turkey, with her mum, staying at some place called Alanya - 250 meters from the sandy beach of Kleopatra.. I haven't heard from her since she got there a few days ago.. It's quite possible that I'll not hear from her until she gets back to the Czech republic on the 16th..

I've been watching the whales from the headlands with a pair of binoculars I found when I used to look for scrap metal.

life's good.. I'll likely include a photo later, no time right now..

hugs,
mango.

Last thursday, 28th May, Kveta sprouted metal wings and faster than the speed of sound, flew toward the czech republic..

Her mum was there to pick her up from the airport, and drive her to the sleepy village of Valy where the rest of her family live, not too far from the German border.

So, that leaves me home alone to fend the fort.. It feels a little empty without kvetas presence and although I enjoy spending time alone, I'm naturally missing her too..

And these are slow lazy days, raining and windy out, with occasional patches of sunshine that I take advantage of by walking the local golf courses in search of strayed golf balls hidden in the bushes and long grass.

Today the counsel housing maintenance crew are visiting, doing some work in our small one bedroom flat.. Changes the locks on windows, painting a moldy ceiling and a few other odd bits, so the windows are all fully open right now, and it feels like winter inside.. (Winter officially got started 2 days ago - 1st June is the first day of summer here, down under).. and I can tell you, once more, I am soooo looking forward to leaving this place behind and heading north into the sunshine..

I'm thinking a lot about that lately.. Sydney is so not the place either of us really wish to be in, but due to the insanity of the world, it's a necessary hindrance while waiting impatiently for paperwork to clear.

Crow eyeing our durian jealously

The car needs work on it still. The front windscreen needs replacing after getting cracked while a friend attempted to fix a leaky roof, and there's definitely some electrical problem as the battery keeps running flat if not used for 24 hours or more..

Anyhow, I don't think I've much else to report today.. All's otherwise well.

Hugs to the world,
Mango

Today's Kveta's birthday.. Born in 1957, so that makes it her Her 52nd.. I think we'll go get a durian (or 2) for it later.. It's still early in the day here.

Kveta on Congwong Beach May 24th 2009

We've been going through a bit of a soggy wet spell this past week or so. Fortunately nowhere near as serious as many places along the east coast has..There'sbeen a few towns flooded and declared disaster zones..Lismore, Grafton, and other places around the Northern Rivers area (An area both Kveta and I have lived previously).

Touch wood, this area we're in now is not proned to floods or other diverse weather conditions.. Any such threat here would most likely come from the sea, being as close as it is..

Kveta on Congwong Beach 24th May 2009

Anyhow, quiet, mostly indoor days here. No one's golfing so no point in looking for balls just yet.. - Looks like the market will be off again for tomorrow.

Only another 5 days before Kveta flies off to Europe, and only about 3 months left before I know whether or not I get to stay!

not much else to report, I'll add a photo or 2 later [Just added them. 26/5/09]..

Hugs Kveta!!
mango.

My dad was born on this day, in the year 1926.. That makes him 83 years old, and embarking now on his 84th..

He and mum, who normally live in England, have gone to Spain for a few weeks holiday, and staying in our bungalow near Campello (half way between Alicante and Benidorm).

I think they left the UK just 2 days ago.

I'll likely give them a quick call later today.

Anyhow, even though I know you'll likely never read this message, happy 83rd dad! (they no longer have a computer/internet connection in either the UK or Spain).

Mum & dad in Spain in March 2004

Back on Ozzy shores, the latest and greatest news is that Kveta has just passed her driving test (this morning - Well done Kveta!!), and now holds a full ozzy driving license.. I'm still driving on my UK one as I'm under no legal obligation to get an australian one until at most 3 months after I get my permanent residency visa (IE not until toward the end of this year) - In fact, until I get my permanent visa, I can only get a provisional australian driving license, which'ld be a waste of money.

Anyhow, Kveta has already been driving for many years, as she took her test, and passed, back when she was still living in the Czech Republic, but the bureaucracy here makes it compulsory for czech drivers to retake the test..

That white one is ours..

Our car is a toyota camry, especially equipped with hand controls for kveta, so that she can steer, indicate, brake and accelerates with her hands alone..

Touch wood, it appears to be running quite well, but does have some rust issues, and at this very moment, Kveta is visiting a friend of hers called Sunny, who is doing some work on repairing rust damage to the roof (just above the windscreen) of the car. I think the infection is worse than we first thought, and the windscreen has been slightly cracked as a consequence of the work being done on it, and will have to be replaced..

Photo taken in 2007 while on vacation in Northern NSW

We're hoping that it'll see us safely relocated to the tropics, so it'll have to knock up at least another few more thousand kilometers..

Hi Amelia!

Happy 4th Birthday, and May the Fourth be with you always!!

Sorry I can't be there to give you a hug.. Not easy when I'm on the other side of the world and have long since forsaken the traditional 9 to 5 working/wages..

I hope you have a pleasant day, and that mum takes you somewhere nice for the day! (I believe today is the first day that your dad starts work teaching autistic children, so I'm guessing you won't see him until he gets back from work!)..

Anyhow, sending you lots of love!

From Uncle Mango..

I think I'm feeling to  take that back what I wrote yesterday, about Denni not exactly being a friend..

It's not true, he is definitely a friend, as well as a neighbour. I do appreciate how he's helped me getting started with the balls and all, and despite his being needy, and suffering from depression, he is on many levels a very kind person.

Free Spirited Denni, with his habitual cigarette.

Like I said, he is on a terrible diet, and it truly surprises me that he has managed to survive this long.. I used to tell him all the time that he needs to change his ways and eat more fruit, but I soon realised I was fighting a loosing battle there, his lifestyle, sadly, like most other peoples out there, is immersed in addiction.

Denni with his golf balls..
He's been in the business for many years already

he lives in the building opposite ours, and has 2 big dogs that he calls his babies.

Just came out from the bushes with a rucksack full of balls.

peace to you denni,
mango