Ray has had two rounds of his clinical trial treatment and will have another CT scan on 17th Jan to see whether it is having any effect. The main side effect of the drug is a very bad acne like rash that has broken out over Ray's face, scalp and upper body. While uncomfortable and irritating, it's a 'walk in the park' compared to the side effects of the chemo drugs.

It's been fantastic, relaxing over the Christmas break, firstly in Castlemaine with family and friends for Christmas, a day at the MCG (for Ray), then Sydney for a family reunion with Marg's mum's extended family. After the New Year, we are looking forward to a relaxing week in the Blue Mountains before coming home via Canberra.

We hope everyone had a joyful and peaceful Christmas and is looking forward to welcoming in the New Year.

Have just received the news that I have been placed on the fortnightly clinical trial and will start treatment tomorrow down at Western General.
Ray

We have finally found out that "Yes" - Ray does have the Wild Gene (are any of us surprised?) that is required for him to go on the clinical trial at the Western General.
Ray has an appointment next Monday (29th Nov) to sign paperwork and have some base-line tests done.
The drug is delivered by injection - either once a week or fortnightly and hopefully we'll find that out next Monday as well.
How are we feeling? Relieved - it's been a bit like waiting to find out whether you passed or failed your exam.

Love to you all
Marg, Ray, Tahnee, Marli.

Still waiting for results to come back - from Antwerp in Belgium! - before we know whether Ray will be eligible for the clinical trial at Western General. Hopefully we will know by late November. In the meantime ....
Ray is off on his annual men's group weekend away - camping on Gunbower Island, just north of Echuca.
Tahnee was nominated to compete in the secondary college's Musician of the Year event which she found a daunting experience up against year 11 and 12 students.
Marli continues to be entrepeneurial with her Saturday morning market stall.
I am getting regular work at the local hospital on their casual bank as a ward clerk and admin assistant.
Hoping you are all in good health and spirits and enjoying the beautiful Spring weather when we have it.
Love Marg

Sorry I haven't updated the blog site for a while.

Am in the middle of an enjoyable school holiday with the girls (what we've seen of them that is!) They are such social critters. Off to sleep overs and day trips to friends.

Took Tahnee and 8 of her friends camping for 2 nights at Joyce's Creek in Newstead. Lots of water, green grass and terrific weather.

Went down to Melbourne to see the Tim Burton and Titanic exhibitions with some friends. Slept all the way home on the train after the big day out.

Have family visiting from Canberra and Perth next week.

Got the results of my most recent CT scan today. The tumors have grown slightly which indicates the chemo is no longer working so a decision was made to discontinue it's use.

My oncologist has referred me to the Western General Hospital in Melbourne which is undertaking a trial of a drug called Certuximab. I will have some blood tests to determine whether I am eligible for the trial. There is a 60% chance that I will. It will mean a weekly trip down to Melbourne. The affects of the drug are negligable compared to chemotherapy, which would be a blessing.

Feeling a little flat given that this is a new hurdle to leap over and I'm still getting over the affects of my last chemo treatment.

Love and blessings
Ray

We have settled back into life in Castlemaine after a few restless nights wandering around the house at 3.30am in the morning. After the warmth of the northern hemisphere, with days lasting until 11pm we came back to dark frosty nights starting at 5.30pm. It's still taking us a while to get used to the chilly winter here, but we are rejoicing that there has been so much rain.
As we expected, the tumors in Ray's liver have started to grow again and a tumour has been located in his lung. The planned course of action is for him to resume the chemo treatment he had started before our trip. The first dose is tomorrow (Wednesday). After 12 weeks of feeling pretty much normal, it's not something Ray is looking forward to at all. Saying all that though we are so very grateful for the opportunity to experience our trip abroad, memories and reflections we will continue to talk about for years to come. The girls are loving reconnecting with friends and school and Mum and Dad are slowly engaging with their garden and the Castlemaine community again.
Blessings to you all

Well, we're on the homeward trek. Driving down to Birmingham this afternoon to spend a final evening with Di and family before heading off for the airport at 6am for a mid-day flight. Thanks once again John for the loan of your car.

Thanks to all Ray's 'Ollerton' family for the wonderful hospitality they gave us for our final week in Lancashire. We had a lovely catch up with Aunty Marg West before John came over from Blackpool to spend the weekend with us in Darwen. Had a lovely Indian dinner with Susan, Mel, Westley & Lucas. We stayed 2 nights at Uncle Tom & Aunty Marg Ollerton's beautiful country home at Entwistle - went through the family photo albums, took an early morning walk around the reservoir and enjoyed Aunty Marg's home cooking (especially her whinberry pie). Caught up with their daughter Catherine and son-in-law Peter and their gorgeous sons Sam, Nick and Ben. Cousin David cooked us a gourmet bbq at his, Sarah & Toby's house where we caught up again with Ray's cousins Lyn & Christine. Although no longer a hairdresser, Susan obligingly brought around her scissors and gave Ray (and several others) haircuts & trims.
We spent a last day in Blackpool with John and watched the tide come in on South Shore, then we went to see a play in the evening at the Grand Theatre.

This trip has been a wonderful experience and special time for us all, but especially Ray, to get to know his family in the UK.
We are looking forward to putting our feet on Australian soil again, however, and seeing our family and friends there.
Our love and hugs to everyone - Marg, Ray, Tahnee & Marli

With the help of our sat. nav., we navigated our way through Paris to the campsite we are staying at successfully. Marg still found the experience stressful – if not quite to the same levels as when travelling through Prague without the sat. nav.
Our cabin at the campsite is a bit of a comedown after our luxury hotel experience in Dole – it is much smaller than what was depicted on the internet, however, it is comfortable and we are enjoying being able to cook our own meals again. The campsite is in the historic area of Maisons-Laffitte on the banks of the river Seine.
The weather is quite hot now (low 30’s) and we are finding the heat energy sapping (ironic – Aussies complaining about the heat!). The long days (it’s not going dark until after 10.30pm) mean we aren’t getting to bed until after mid-night. So we have decided to take it a bit easier for our 5 days in Paris, - start our days later and not try to do too much. Paris is also, even more so than London, so busy and full of tourists – we are finding it a bit overwhelming.
Our first day out was to the Arc de Triumph and then a walk down the Champs Elysee to the Louvre, where we spent the afternoon. Our second day we visited Notre-Dame and took a boat ride down the Seine. Sunday, we decided to do Paris by night to try and avoid walking around in the heat of the day and it also worked in well with watching the England vs Germany game (sad outcome!). Went up the Eiffel Tower (the girls wanted to walk, but you could only go to the very top by elevator) and walked back down from the second level. Wonderful views across the massive expanse of Paris. Got back down just after 10pm and went and had snails, salad and pizza. Ray (accidentally) did a re-enactment of a scene from “Pretty Woman” and managed to flip his snail, firstly onto the floor and then into his beer! Those snails surely are slippery suckers.
Monday we had another lazy start to the day and then caught the train into Montmatre where we visited the church of Sacre Coeur, the markets in Montmatre and then walked through the Kings Cross of Paris –Moulin Rouge. We all felt Montmatre had the feel, look and essence of the Paris we had been anticipating.
Tuesday – our last day in Paris, we caught the train to Versaille to visit the Palace only to find the queue of ticket holders waiting to go in was about 1km long (no joking). This is before you stood in the queue to purchase tickets. We decided we would have a walk around Versaille instead and then caught the train back to Maisons Laffitte, enjoy a drink at a sidewalk café and then relax back at the cabin before going out to dinner for our last night.
Tomorrow, heading back to England via the ferry at Calais to spend a final week with Ray’s family before heading home.

Our drive from Innsbruck in Austria to Airolo in Switzerland has been marked by extra-ordinarily long tunnels (the longest being 30km which make our Sydney Harbour tunnel seem petite) and beautiful snow-capped mountains and rapidly running rivers. We stopped off at Vaduz, capital of Lichtenstein, for lunch, then continued winding our way through some beautiful little villages. At times, as we climbed higher into the mountains, the temperature dropped to 3 deg. C and we stopped a couple of times to look at the view and throw a few snowballs. We were obviously close to the Italian border in Airolo as everyone spoke Italian and every second car was an Alfa Romeo. Airolo is the first place we have been where we can’t find someone who speaks a reasonable amount of English. This proved frustrating when we tried to get directions to the Devil’s Bridge – famous for opening up the San Gottard mountain pass between the north and south canton’s of Switzerland. We eventually found it after using the internet to get an approximate location. Compared to our previous accommodations, our hotel in Airolo was relatively expensive and basic. However, the restaurant/bar downstairs provided a comfortable environment for us to sit, have our dinner, read, play cards & chess, watch the World Cup and the girls to do their homework for the two nights we were there.
Left Airolo and drove again through some spectacular landscape before entering the motorway heading towards Paris. We drove for 5 hours before stopping off in Dole, a provincial town 300 km S.E. of Paris. Not having any pre-booked accommodation, we took a punt and ended up at a beautiful hotel with a swimming pool that the girls enjoyed after the long drive. After the rain in Austria and the snow-chilled air in Airolo, we are back to high 20’s temperatures. Sitting in the manicured gardens, Ray felt a bit embarrassed reading a book about Wellington, who defeated Napoleon in 1815!! We used up our two night’s accommodation budget for getting to Paris, so decided to go to Paris a day earlier. Luckily the Eurocamp we are staying in was able to accommodate our change. Back on the road for the final leg to Paris, we have worked out the system of toll paying, which is quite expensive. Paris, here we come!
P.S. Tahnee & Ray are sad that Australia didn’t get through to the next round and Ray is convinced Soccer (Football) IS the World Game.

Ended our one night stay in Cesky Krumlov with a visit to the amazingly opulent Baroque castle where we learned a little bit more about Bohemian history from our guide. We then headed off for Vienna - zoomed along the motorway and arrived at our accommodation – another apartment, small but spacious – in a beautiful tree-lined street in the suburb of Wahring- an easy 20 minute tram ride into Vienna. Amazingly we were able to park right outside the apartment for free! – No costly car parks that were a km away. The rain caught up with us in Austria. It poured down non-stop the first day, so we spent it in the Natural Histories museum. The second day we visited the Kunsthistoriches (art museum). You really need a whole week to take in the many famous and fabulous art works the museum possesses. In the evening, Ray went to the State Opera to see Capriccio by Richard Strauss with our friend Elna’s mother (Ama), who lives in Vienna. Ray was really excited because Renae Fleming was one of the singers. We spent our last day in Vienna at the Schonnbrunn Palace (where we got drenched in a thunderstorm), and then went over to Ama’s apartment for dinner. In the evening she took us to a street festival where her son, Eric, a well known Viennese blues musician, was playing with his band – The Mojo Blues Band. It was a great night and we got home around midnight after negotiating the Vienna underground – a breeze compared to London.
Currently on our way to Switzerland. Stopped in Salzburg last night – so much history here but no time to see it all and reflect on it. Salzburg – the birthplace of Mozart and, of course, the original hometown of the Von Trapp family from the Sound of Music. In the end we saw a performance of “The Magic Flute” at the Marionette Theatre – wonderfully enchanting - and then the next morning got up early to go on a “Sound of Music” bus tour for 4 hours. The tour took us out into the lakes district close to Salzburg. While wandering the streets looking for somewhere to eat, we met an interesting retired American professor of history who had been living in Salzburg for the last 27 years. We ended up having dinner with him in an Italian restaurant. Spending the night in Innsbruck and then driving off to Airolo in Switzerland for 2 nights. As we drive along now, the landscape has changed from the flats of the Czech Republic to misty mountains and huge lakes as we get closer to Switzerland.

Our time in Brugge will be memorable for us because of the Lybeer Hostel we stayed in. The girls, in particular, loved being able to walk around the corner to the shopping centre, then come back to the convivial environment of the hostel living room, meeting people from all over the world. Another bonus for them was the free internet connected computers. Met an older Australian couple who were from Melbourne and discovered the wife knew one of our librarians in Castlemaine, and shared our evening meal with an Australian lad from Essendon one night. Also visited the last remaining Beguinage in the world (a Beguine nunnery) which is now a world heritage site and attended the Church of the Holy Blood, where a relic of Jesus' blood is held. It was brought back to Belgium from the Crusades. We went on a brewery tour and learnt the finer points of beer brewing and went for a horse and carriage ride around the cobbled streets.
Had one trip out of Brugge to Ypres (Ieper) and went for a 1km walk along the river to the Ramsgate gravesite. On our way back, through town, the girls stopped to buy some fine Belgian chocolates and Ray struck up a very interesting conversation with the owner (a third generation chocolatier). She told us some of the history of Ypres as well as some tips about what makes a quality chocolate! We left her in time to walk to the Menin Gate for the Last Post – a moving service, and the visiting dignitary that night was the NZ Minister of Defence.
After two long days of driving – including being stuck in two autobahn traffic jams for an hour each and getting lost navigating our way through Prague (Praha) sans Sat Nav (Tom Tom doesn’t seem to have maps for the Czech Republic) - we finally arrived at our accommodation in Prague. For an extra 16 Euros a night, we have upgraded from sharing one room with 4 bunks in our Brugge hostel to a 3 story recently renovated apartment with modern furnishings, 2 bathrooms with showers, a huge bath, kitchen and lounge room! Oh yes, and the third floor has a glass floor over the stairwell! The apartment is in the older part of Prague and is surrounded by beautiful old buildings and churches. The Prague Castle was only a 3 minute walk away, the highlight being a visit to the Lebkowicz Palace, an amazing story of a family who lost all its property and fortune twice - to the Nazis in 1939 and then the communists in 1948, but after the velvet revolution of 1989 and the iron curtain coming down, the grandchildren were able to get the properties restituted to the family. We all learnt a great deal about Czech history from visiting this Palace. Prague was beautiful, but we did find it very touristy and expensive.
We are now staying in the old part of Cesky Krumlov – a world heritage site. Went for a walk this afternoon through the beautiful cobbled streets and over the many picturesque bridges that cross the Vltava River. Looking forward to treating ourselves to some Czech goulash tonight – we have been living on a diet of bread, cheese and ham for the last 3 days. We are off to Vienna tomorrow and back in Sat. Nav. land - much to Marg’s relief!

A quick update to let you all know that Ray and I had a lovely overnight B&B stay, just outside of Stratford-on-Avon. We explored Shakespeare's hometown before heading off to the theatre to see Anthony & Cleopatra. The next morning (Sunday) we went to the Communion service at Holy Trinity church - the church Shakespeare was a lay rector at before he died and where he and his family are buried. It was an enervating experience.

We arrived safely in Brugge today. We decided to do the drive from Birmingham to Dover the night before we got the ferry to Calais. Just as well, as the motorway was often jam packed and what we would have estimated (in Australia) to take us a couple of hours took us 4. Many thanks again to John and Di for the loan of their very comfortable Peugot.

Ferry trip went smoothly and it was wonderful taking in the white cliffs as we sailed out of Dover. Ray negotiated the right hand side driving masterfully and we arrived at our accommodation - a youth hostel, in the centre of Brugge, mid afternoon. The youth hostel takes me back to my backpacking days as a student and I think it's a great experience for the girls. Our room is on the 3rd floor = up 3 flights of narrow winding steps and no lift, we have bunk beds and share the bathroom with everyone else on that floor = but the hostel has lots of character and free internet!! We managed to fit in a visit to the Church of Our Lady to see Michelangelo's Madonna and child (the only Michelanglo sculpture outside of Italy) and a boat trip down the canals before it got too late. We found a cute little pasta house down a side street. Chilling out in the hostel lounge room now. Ray is already sitting quietly tasting the brew made famous by the Trappist Monks over the last 400 years and writing in his journal. Looking forward to going to Ypes tomorrow night for the Last Post. All the best = Marg

Had an enjoyable Bank Holiday weekend in Blackpool, catching up with Di, John & Georgia again - they travelled up from Birmingham to see us. The first day was cold and rainy, but luckily cleared up in time for the Ollerton family lunch on Sunday. The lunch was held in a beautiful old stately home called Astley Bank in Darwen and we got to meet 17 new family members. That evening, back in Blackpool we went to the Hampton Road Working Men's club for some drinks and snacks and ended up participating in their bingo sessions. Marg felt disadvantaged by the elderly Welsh gentleman who was reading out the numbers as she said she couldn't understand him. The next day we dropped the girls off to the Pleasure Beach Fun Park at 10.30am and they stayed until it closed at 7pm. No need to tell you that they had a ball. Apparently they rode the 'world's biggest' rollercoaster 9 times. The 'oldies' were more sedate and spent the day relaxing on the sun chairs in the Sun Room on the North Pier.

The girls and Marg have enjoyed having a quieter week. To Marli's great delight, there is a craft shop directly across the road from John's house. The owner of the shop, Betsy, makes beautiful cards and has generously given Marli a lot of her time, showing her how to make some very spectacular cards. The library is just around the corner as well and we've become members to borrow books and use the internet.

Ray went off on Wednesday by himself to have his port-a-cath flushed at the local hospital - amazingly they still had his hospital records from when he last visited there at age 8. He then took off to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire - a magnificent 500 year old house and gardens - while Marg and the girls did things around Blackpool with John. On Thursday we all headed off to Haworth in the Yorkshire dales - the town where the Bronte sisters had lived. A beautifully picturesque town now, but apparently it was very squalid in their time with lack of hygiene and many people dying of consumption, typhoid and plague. Their father, a local cleric, outlived his wife and all 6 of his children. We had a personalised tour (being the only ones on it) and got the history of the area and the Bronte sisters, and then visisted the Bronte museum, which is located in the parsonage where their family had lived.

Today we visited Stanley Park with Aunty Marg, her daughter Susan and Susan's son's Westley & Lucas. Ray had a ride down memory lane when we hired some paddle boats - he has fond memories of doing that 50 years ago.

Off to Birmingham tomorrow to drop the girls off for a weekend on their own with their cousins Georgia and Chris. Ray and I are having an overnight stay at Stratford-on-Avon and to see 'Anthony & Cleopatra' at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. We leave for Brugge via the ferry from Dover to Calais on Monday.

After a day of rest on Saturday, (we also had an early celebration of Tahnee's birthday with Ray's dad, aunty and cousins in Darwen), we left Blackpool on Sunday 23rd for our week in London. It was an iconic scene when we left - John waving us goodbye as the two Carol's in the street (his neighbours) hung over their front fences chatting and gossiping and waving to us. On our way down to our hotel, just out of London, we decided we weren't too far from Stonehenge and stopped off to visit this ancient site.

Our first day in London proved extremely challenging. It consisted of 30 deg. heat, cancelled train lines, Marg falling down the station steps, traffic jammed buses being diverted and our car breaking down at the end of the day. Despite not getting back to our hotel until after midnight, we had a good day out - picked up our 3-day London passes and visited the London Museum.

We fared a lot better on Tuesday, negotiating the London over and underground rail system artfully and went on the London Eye, took a ferry trip up the Thames and absorbed the history of the Tower of London. We then wandered around Westminster, to such sights as Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Wednesday was our theatrical day, visiting the London Bridge and underground tomb tour - a horror event that had the girls screaming. We then wandered over to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and were lucky enough to score 4 front row seats (that had just been returned) to the matinee performance of Macbeth. What a treat for us all - it was a total Shakespearean experience and even though Macbeth is a dark tale, there were very funny and lighthearted bits with audience interaction. After the show finished we managed to fit in an hour at the Tate Modern art gallery before it closed.

Thursday - our last day in London. When we emerged from Victoria Station, the Apollo Theatre, advertising the show Wicked, loomed enticingly before us. What could we do but go over and check out if there were any tickets left for tonight's performance? After purchasing tickets, we walked around to Buckingham Palce for the Changing of the Guard and then to Westminster Abbey for a tour of this amazing church that has witnessed the coronation of 38 kings and queens of England and has the tombs and memorials of so many noted academics, poets, artists and writers. As a bit of an afterthought we visited Apsley House, the home of the 1st and subsequent Dukes of Wellington, and were pleasantly surprised at how much we all enjoyed the house and its history. As the house was on Hyde Park corner, we took in a walk through the park. Tahnee even managed to hand-feed one of the friendly squirrels we saw there. A bus trip down Pall Mall back to the Apollo Theatre for the wickedly wonderful performance of Wicked was a great finale for our trip to London.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to our London Passes - we couldn't have done what we did without them.

On our way back to Blackpool we stopped off at Ely, near Cambridge, to visit the aged and magnificent Norman cathedral. We also encountered the Bank Holiday traffic jams. A test of patience, the girls were fantastic (again) as we spent 5 hours straight in the car crawling our way back to John's house. We are now looking forward to the Ollerton family reunion lunch on Sunday, spending the Bank Holiday Monday with Di, John and Georgia - the 3 girls are going to the Pleasure Beach fun park, and then a few (quiet?) days before we head off for the Europe leg of our trip.

Best wishes to everyone, and thanks for the messages and emails we have been receiving. It's always good to hear your news.

Love Ray, Marg, Tahnee & Marli

Unfortunately our flight to Rome was cancelled because of the volcanic ash activity. After our initial feelings of disappointment we did a quick re-think, and decided to head north instead to Scotland - despite having our bags packed with clothes for the warmer climate in Rome. A few hours spent cancelling everything Roman over the internet, and some ringing around to organise a hire car that would carry all six of us (Ray‘s dad, John, and his Aunty Margaret are coming with us), we finally headed off just after 3pm, initially for Carlise, then decided to carry on to Glasglow, but after seeing a sign for a scenic route to Edinburgh, arrived in Edinburgh just after 7pm.
We had a lovely meal out at a restaurant recommended by a cabbie and then walked around the city until 10.30pm.

The weather has been kind to us and we spent the next day exploring Edinburgh castle and learning a lot about its fascinating history. We were told the Queen was in town so we walked the length of the Royal Mile to drop in for a cuppa with her at Holyrood Palace (the Queen’s official residence in Scotland), but unfortunately she wasn’t in. We ended the day at an Italian restaurant that made us feel we could have been in Rome.

Left Edinburgh on Wednesday morning and drove to the holy island of Lindisfarne to visit the Priory which was built 1,300 years ago. Lindisfarne is known as the cradle of English Christianity. To get to the island we drove across the tidal causeway which is only accessible for part of the day. The village was quaint and the scenery, as usual, beautiful.

The girls and Marg are learning a lot about England’s history, as we pick up information from each place we go to, together with Ray’s (who has always had a keen interest in history) knowledge as we drive along.

After leaving Lindisfarne we headed towards Hadrian’s Wall, but got side-tracked by the market town of Hexham, where we visited the old gaol. As it was getting late in the day, we only saw one part of Hadrian’s Wall, but that was a lovely ‘adventure’ as we had to climb over a style and cross a field of sheep, with new born lambs, to get to it. We then moved on to Durham to spend the night.

Had a very interesting guided tour around Durham Cathedral the next morning and then climbed the 325 steps up to the top of the tower. John & Aunty Margaret passed this up.

Gave the girls and Aunty Margaret a bit of time to wander around the shops in Durham while, Ray and I went for a walk along the river and John went for a pint, then headed off for York.

A frustrating arrival in York as we tried to navigate around York’s one-way streets to find our hotel. The sat nav was no help as we didn’t have an address it recognised. We all arrived a bit tired and frustrated, but after a good night’s sleep we had a good day out. We decided to do something that the girls would really enjoy and visited Jorvik, an interactive Viking centre and then the York Castle Museum - also an interactive museum of English history from medieval times to the present day. We ended our day in York with a boat ride down the River Ouse, had a drink on the riverbank at the Kings Arms, a fish and chip dinner and then headed home. Having a quiet weekend before we head off for a week in London.

As we sit here at Aunty Margaret’s in Darwen, waiting to find out whether our flight to Rome has been cancelled because of the volcanic ash (not looking good at this stage), we’ll bring you up to date with our adventures.

Ray has enjoyed revisiting old haunts and residences, most have since been demolished and changed considerably over the last 40 years , a mix of emotions for him.

Our day on Blackpool Beach - one can only describe the promenade as a bit like a carnival on steroids! It’s the off season so the streets aren’t crowded - we would hate to be here when it is. We had fish and chips and Ray decided he’d have his with mushy peas for old times sake. We were fascinated by the menu which offered chips with a choice of gravy, curry, peas or cheese and chip buttys (sandwiches) for 60p. Afterwards we went for a stroll down the North pier and were intrigued by all the ‘oldies’ who were sunbathing on the deck chairs in the ‘sun room’ area at the end of the pier. We joined them and probably looked quite strange rugged up in our jackets and coats while everyone else was half naked. We then headed off to Blackpool Tower, only to find that it was shutting early (off season again). Instead we went to Louis Tussaud’s and spent a couple of fun hours among the wax figures.

For a complete contrast, the next day we had a literary excursion and went to the Lake District were we visited the enchanting World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness-on-Windermere and then William Wordsworth’s home at Rydal Mount. Even though it was a cold rainy day, it seemed perfect for the landscape we were in - looking out at the mist hanging over the hills from William Wordsworth’s bedroom was inspiring.

The next day we travelled south to the town of Chester with its famous Roman wall that surrounds the city. We visited the Norman Cathedral first and learnt a lot about it’s history. It was built in 1098, thirty two years after William the Conqueror invaded England. We also walked on the old Roman wall. We were blessed with some beautiful afternoon sunshine were almost hot by the end of the walk. The afternoon finished with pints (alcoholic and non) all round in a pub by the river Dee.

Today (Sunday) was a day for reflection as we celebrated Aunty Margaret’s grandson’s C. of E. confirmation at St. Stephens in Darwen, followed by a family lunch.

While we are having these wonderful experiences we are also very aware of our family and friends at home, especially we are thinking and praying for our friend Vera, who died last Tuesday, and her husband Ian and their two sons. Our prayers and thoughts are with them as they prepare for Vera’s funeral, a beautiful, fun loving and gracious lady.
More news soon.
Blessings - The Ollertons

Have a great photo of the girls and Ray greeting John (Ray's Dad) at his front door in Blackpool - the first time any of us had been there. It was a happily emotional time. From the end of his street,we can see the Pleasure Beach roller coaster - which once used to be the biggest roller coaster in the world. We travelled over to Darwen the next day to visit Aunty Margaret and also catch up with his Uncle Tom (who Ray has never met) and his wife Margaret (who is also a Margaret Ollerton). Yesterday we had a trip up to Skipton to the castle there - apparently the best preserved castle in the UK. It was fascinating and the girls were able to really relate to the Robin Hood movie we went to see that night. On the way home, we stopped off at Accrington to have a look at the Primary School and High School Ray used to go to as well as a house he used to live in. Having a quite day today in Blackpool - probably go up Blackpool Tower and walk along the beach. Tomorrow we are heading off to the Lakes District and then it's off to Rome at 6am on Monday morning. Running out of time on the library computer. So will sign off for now. Marg

We’re leaving for Blackpool this morning after having had a great time with Ray’s sister Di, her husband John and their kids Chris & Georgia and Di’s dad Harry. Went to watch Georgia play soccer on Saturday morning in typical English soccer weather – freezing cold, windy and rainy! But it was a great game and Georgia’s team (Perrywood) won 4-2 with Georgia kicking the first goal.
We spent a couple of evenings at their local, the Meadowlark, (which is conveniently located just across the road), having a pub meal one night and then participating in their raucous weekly quiz night the second. Our table won thanks to ‘Ant’ who has a mine of information tucked away.
John took us down to visit the local limestone tunnels which was fascinating and the girls even got to do a big of ‘legging’ on the boat coming back. The Black Country – as the west Midlands is known - has a very interesting history, but unfortunately we don’t have time to see it all.
On Sunday we all took a car trip down to south Wales and visited Tintern Abbey, a 1,000 year old Cistercian monastery, and also the castle at Monmouth where, we learnt, King Henry V was born. We drove through some beautiful Welsh countryside and villages which was almost worth the trip itself.
Thanks John, Di, Chris, Georgia & Harry for your great hospitality and all the home cooked meals.

We arrived safely in London yesterday afternoon - met by Ray's brother-in-law, John. Had our first taste of a motorway traffic jam!
Looking forward to catching up and spending the weekend with Ray's sister, Di, and her family in Dudley, Birmingham.
Weather was a pleasant 15deg Celsius on arrival, but this morning is very chilly and only expecting to be around 10degC max. for the next few days, a bit of a change after experiencing 28degC with high humidity on our last night in Hong Kong.
We want to thank Marg's cousins, Helen and Janice and their husbands Nick and Merv for the fantastic hospitality they showed us in Hong Kong. Staying at Nick and Helen's was so much more inviting than a hotel room, enjoying breakfast each morning with the family. We packed a lot into the 4 days we spent with them and felt we had the full Hong Kong tourist experience - junk ride, yum cha, Peking duck dinner, tram ride up to Victoria Peak, cable car to the giant Buddha with vegetarian lunch at the Po Lin monastery, noodles at a street stall and all the markets:- clothes (Tahnee & Marli would like to thank Aunty Janice for helping them with the haggling), wet market with live fish and crabs; flower, goldfish & bird markets (although we didn't spend a lot of time at the last 2 as the girls were quite upset to see the goldfish and birds in tiny cages and bags. Marg even got to go out with Helen & Janice for a massage one evening while the guys caught up for a drink at the Football club. We spent the last evening having an Aussie BBQ on the roof top of Janice & Merv's villa overlooking the water.

We arrived Hong Kong safely and no dramas - in fact half an hour ahead of schedule.
The trip was great, we watched 2 movies each. It was good wind down time after the busyness of getting ready.

Met by Marg's cousin Helen and her husband Nick. Staying in their 13th floor apartment overlooking the Harbour. For Hong Kong standards, very spacious - it has 4bedrooms, plus an area behind the kitchen where the Nanny lives. HK has 6 million people in an area of 1100 square kilometres. The density of high rise buildings resembles a lego land - one on top of the other. Given our spaciousness in north central Victoria it is quite overwhelming.

Had a great day Sunday - junk ride over to Lamma Island where we disembarked for a seafood lunch. Weather was 26 deg C and humid.

Took a tram ride up to the Victoria Peak and back, then went for Yum Cha and in the afternoon shopping at Stanley Market. The girls had a great time - overawed by all the stalls and spent most of their HK dollars.

The girls have enjoyed swimming each afternoon with their cousins.

Departing Thursday morning for London - will arrive 2.30am (EST) Friday morning.

Looking forward to departing this Saturday 1st May.
Heading off to Hong Kong for 4 days to stay with Marg's cousins.
Then off to UK on the 6th May. Will try and keep this blog updated regularly with our adventures.

Dear Folks
It's the silly season for sport for me at the moment, especially European soccer. Sitting up early morning watching Manchester United and Bayern Munich. During intervals I'm writing into my biography/journal. Quiet mornings indeed.
Listened to a woinderful audio on Radio National the other day, a short essay called "On Cancer" It articulated much of how I'm thinking and feeling. Have a listen:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/firstperson/stories/2010/2856082.htm

Hello folks
I must apologise for not updating my blog for so long. I find the computer and especially the internet an unconvincing space to spend time in, although I definitely see it's value when contacting people and looking for information. I'm thinking that, given my prognosis I want to limit the time I spend on the computer. At the moment most of my time is spent writing my life story which hopefully will be completed and available for my children as a legacy in coming years.

I complete my last round of chemo on the 7th April. This will give me a 3 week break before we head of on our 9 week holiday to the UK and Europe on May 1st. The initial chemo has stopped working and the main tumour in my liver has grown 2 mm. My blood markers have increased from 4 to 7. This is not cause for concern in the immediate term, but the therapy is following it's statistical timeframe, that is the therapy works for approx 10 months and I was on it for 9 months. Going overseas has its gambles. Not being on chemo could speed up tumour growth, although the oncologist is not convinced that anything drastic will happen in the next 3 months. This has alleviated some anxiety about our travel time and plans. I have to be careful about not catching any infections, have had my H1N1 and flu jab and staying as healthy as possible, eating, sleeping very well etc
Side effects are so debilitating but my determination and strength is carrying me through the worst. I had a painful bout of mouth and lip ulcers this time around, but they have moderated. Nausea, billiousness and flatulence continue to be the 3 main effects, but hey, I'm alive and excited about my family trip.

Talking about holidays I'm off to Perth to see my son for 3 days just before we head off overseas. He can't come with us given work commitments, so I thought a couple of days with him would be special.
The last 3 months has been busy and exciting planning where to go and what to do. We will spend just under a month with my Father and his family before heading off to Europe for 3.5 weeks. My sister has offered her car so we will drive around Europe. Places to go to are Belgium (Brugges), southern Germany, Czech republic (Prague & Cesky Krumlov), Austria (Vienna), Switzerland, France finishing in Paris. Sounds ok eh? We are also taking my Dad and Aunty to Rome for 5 days and having 4 days in Hong Kong with Margaret's cousins. I'm keen to see Tintern Abbey and Ely cathedral as well as Lindisfarne (Holy Island)on the east coast of the UK. We have also have a connection in London who has offered us a house for 5 days so will do the tourist run around the English capital!
It's a "bucket list" experience in many ways and whatever time I have left before I die will be filled with satisfaction knowing I have taken my family back to my roots and have introduced my girls to the paternal side of the family, the Ollerton's. Marg and I have a couple of romantic days set aside too such as a trip to Stratford on Avon to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's Anthony & Cleopatra and a trip to the West End (London) and the Vienna State Opera.
Many blessings to you all for your continued care, concerns and especially your prayers. It's a special feeling knowing that someone is setting time aside to meditate and pray for me and my family, it has not gone unnoticed. We will attempt to update our blog during our trip.
Blessings
Ray

Had a great Christmas in Canberra with 14 members of Rays family. Between Christmas and New Year, Ray went fishing with his brother Dave and son Andrew. He was very proud of the fact he caught the biggest fish - a 3kg yellow belly - and has a photo to prove it. He enjoyed having a month break from his chemo treatments over Christmas/New Year and said he felt like he could climb Mount Everest. Ray started chemo again on Tuesday 12th and is feeling quite nauseous at the moment.
Again, we want to say how grateful we are to everyone for showing their care, concern and love in many and varied ways. The journey continues.
Happy new year and best wishes everyone.