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.

This year we have received invaluable support, in many ways, from our family, many friends and neighbours. We have experienced the 'spirit' of Christmas many, many times throughout the year.
We feel blessed and sustained by this care and our faith that is underpinned by hope and energised by a desire to live ever more compassionately.
Merry Christmas everyone, may peace and good will bless and keep you all safe.
Love Marg, Ray, Tahnee and Marli