Pat's broken her wrist, slipping on the ice down in Worthing (along with a goodly proportion of the rest of Worthing and surrounding area, judging by the scenes in A&E). She had to return a couple of days later to have it manipulated under anaesthetic, and replastered.

She'll be in paster for 6 weeks, ie to the beginning of February, so we should be OK... fingers crossed!

Jolene from Flight Centre phoned - San Francisco hotel Chancellor now booked.

Visas sorted: you don't need one for Singapore; we've got eVisitors for Australia; and for USA we're eligible under their Visa waiver scheme (had to promise not to overthrow the government though).

I think the only bureaucratic thing left to do now is to get an international driving permit, and you can only do that within three months of leaving the country, so nothing to do for a while....

All going smoothly

Jolene from Flight Centre phoned today, on return from her hols. Everything - flights, transfers, accommodation and car hire - is booked. The sole exception is the Chancellor Hotel in San Francisco, where she can't get next year's rates yet. She'll try every couple of weeks.

We want to stay at the Chancellor on the recommendation of Todd and Kenzie, who have provided us with an insider's knowledge of things to do there - and not to do.

You don't need a visa to get into Singapore, and for Australia you can get an e-visitor, which replaces the previous non-visa arrangement. For the USA there is a visa waiver scheme, but it seems quite a lot of fuss and bother. Need to look into this.....

More exciting developments soon.

On 1 March 2010 we head for Heathrow to fly east to Singapore, or "Disneyland with the death penalty" as someone called it. From there to Perth, for a few days of lounging about; then to Ayers Rock (or Uluru, as it's called now) in the red centre for a conducted tour to Alice Springs, staying in "tented accommodation" en route. I will elaborate on what this phrase means when we find out.

Then to Melbourne for a few days, and a scenic drive over several days to Canberra. Glenda and Trevor will pick us up there, for a week at their place in Surf Beach NSW.

They will take us back to Canberra, for a short flight to Sydney. There, among ather things, we will look George and Natalie up, and meet their baby.

Finally, and long flight from Sydney to San Francisco, for three nights, and then home. We will be back in England on 5 April.

My intention is to post this blog, with photos where possible, whenever I can get a wifi connection. I hope someone somewhere will read it.