In Perth

Apologies for not having written anything for a month. Philip was worried that I'd been arrested for my critical comments!!!

I'm actually in Perth now visiting my Mum and Dad - arrived on Sunday and am here for 2 weeks. Philip and Denis arrive this Sunday and next week Lian is coming over from Melbourne and Kaori and her son Keigo are coming from Japan, so it's going to be quite a get-together.

My Mum had an operation last week to remove her ovaries and the tumour. The operation was performed using keyhole surgery, so although it was done under general anaesthetic, she didn't have to stay in hospital overnight. She's got an appointment with the oncologist on Monday to discuss the results of the biopsy and has 3 more sessions of chemotherapy, but as she's responded really well to the treatment, it's looking very positive, which is good news. She gets tired very easily, but apart from that she's looking well considering she had an major operation last week.

Work-wise I had a busy couple of weeks before I left Sri Lanka - the end of term is always pretty full-on. Maggie and I did manage to get away one weekend though - took advantage of an offer through HSBC of a 50% discount on a luxury hotel north of Kandy, not far from Sigiriya.

I'm here in Perth until October 12. Will be back at Chirstmas though as I've decided to spend Christmas with my Mum and Dad this year, so I'll only be back in Sri Lanka for 10 weeks! Hopefully it'll be a bit warmer at Christmas as it's been much cooler than I anticipated. Apart from Tuesday it's been very sunny, but the wind has been quite cold and we've had to have the heating on in the house in the evening.

On Tuesday I caught up with Kirsten and Jon and the girls. Kirsten's Dad turns 70 on Sunday, so they're over here for a couple of weeks. Also caught up with Minette and got to see little Paige, who is now 5 1/2 months old. There are very few of my friends now who don't have babies - am starting to feel that I should be having one, although I'm not sure how that's going to happen!!!

Am heading into Perth this afternoon as I'm meeting up with Eloise for dinner. Was going to take the train, but I'm not sure what time I'll be back and don't want to make my Dad wait up as he'd have to come and pick me up from the station. I love where my Mum and Dad live, but it's a little far from Perth itself, which is where all my friends are. What to do?