Arriving into Melbourne we were greeted by Mum at the Airport at silly o'clock in the morning. How wonderful it was to be met by, Mum. Where would we be without our Mother?

 

Time to travel back to Mum's place, we freshened up, change our clothes and made our way to a local Pub with a great family restaurant to meet the rest of the Oliver Clan; Aunts, Uncles and Cousins with the expanding family circle with their own children. Although I was running on empty; having been on an aeroplane over night with little sleep and only having landed a few hours previous into Melbourne, seeing family for the first time, in a long time, always brings you back to life with a second wind; the most important part of life is family. 

 

We had so much to share and talk about, catch up on, it felt as though five-minutes had passed and lunch was over, and it was time to go home. In reality a number of hours had passed and fun had been had by all. The children were growing up.

 

Over the next few days we caught up with my wonderful friends in various places around Melbourne.

 

 

Elizabeth, Shane & Tomas

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Our visit to Melbourne couldn't be complete without a dinner date in Richmond with Elizabeth, Shane and Tomas. We had a great time catching up with them and our last time I'd be seeing their Richmond home, as it was heading towards that time to sell up and move on. 

 

Elizabeth has been integral to my artistic journey in theatre production of my plays since 1996. Visit my artistic website to see her amazing work. And all of them were amazing and supportive during the time when I needed them the most, prior to my departure to London.

 

 

A Day Out With Mum and Jeanie

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We meet at the National Gallery of Victoria for its central position in Melbourne, easy car parking and Mum's favourite cafe in that side of town.

 

Unfortunately, the favourite cafe was closed at the time for renovations. Oh well, over to the not-so-favourite cafe. 

 

We eventually came together and I introduced Jermine to my friend, Jeanie, someone I'd known since Secondary School. How we met, well, that's another long, funny and embarrassing story. At lunch, the conversation came up with what we were doing that night, and Tom's birthday came up in conversation. This is how one surprise became two...

 

Tom's Birthday

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The time had come and surprise Tom for the big 5-0 birthday party. He had absolutely no idea I was in Melbourne visiting friends and family. He knew I was in Viet Nam and Cambodia, but for some strange reason I fell silent on social media once I left Cambodia.

 

Without making this a long story of surprise, needless to say the moment I walked through the door there was an in intial shock, a gasp of air, tears and hugs and laughter. We had an amazing night and the rest of the week we were planning on what to do next.

 

Visiting Dad

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A visit to Melbourne couldn't be down without visiting my Father's resting place. If it wasn't for the insistence of my Father, to go seek new experiences, travel, be free and engage in new adventures, cultures and to live the life that he always want to, but never had the courage to, I wouldn't have moved to London. It was with his blessing I knew it was the right thing to do. 

 

Dad lays to rest at the base of these fruit trees at the Collingwood Children's Farm in Abbotsford. He loved the farm and upon retirement spent many days there tending to the fences, animals, visitors, festivals and teams of youths who need guidance in their lives. It was his partner, Coyla Hegarty, a very lovely and caring lady who also loved the Collingwood Children's Farm with the same affection. 

 

I encourage families, couples and anyone to visit the operating farm in central Melbourne, about 10 minutes from the CBD of Melbourne.

 

The gate to the Collingwood Children's Farm is dedicated to Coyla, because of her integral dedication to saving the Farm in way of petitioning against Developers.