This Perth Life

Lost Wills

last will and testament pack
Uploaded by lukemontague.

I was flicking around the news sites yesterday whilst I had a spare 5 minutes, like you do, and came across a story about a new "Will Bank".

"Huh?" was my first thought, quickly followed by "What a good idea!".

We are to get a storage bank in Perth to deposit your last will & testament into for safe keeping. Apparently the Public Trustee (not sure who he or she is and what they do, that will take a little more flicking around on the old web) receives more than 20 calls a week from people who either don’t know whether their deceased loved one had a will or who know they did have a will but couldn’t find it.

I have to say that I am the person in our house who looks after the insurance policies and other legal documents and, although I have said to husband on many a time that this is where he can find this and that, I'm still not sure that he actually knows where everything is. I'd go for this in a flash, you can always keep a copy at home and them a spare in the Will Bank just in case.

Plus if you lose your copy through a fire or move  you can be sure that the other copy is well kept in purpose-built vault, safe from loss, theft or any other damage.

I'd like to see it changed slightly so that you could keep other important relevant documents with the will like life insurance. 

To store your will in the WA Will Bank, take your will and two types of identification to the Public Trustee at 565 Hay Street, Perth and fill out a lodgement form. The Will Bank service is free for people who lodge their own wills, although people lodging wills on behalf of others will be charged $195.

Where Did It Go?

Storm Front
Originally uploaded by thisperthlife.

OK we were warned. Newspapers, TV Weather Channel, News Stations, Internet all had it. BIG STORM ON WAY!

Rottnest Ferries were cancelled for the first time in 10 years.

All the talk at school was about the best way to tie down trampolines so that they didn't end up in next door's pool.

Eldest son was warned that BIG STORM was on it's way and that if he was woken in the middle of the night that's what it was and not to worry.

Husband was out on the town last night and quite prepared to arrive home soaked to the skin having had a hair raising taxi drive up the freeway.

So what happened?

No high winds in the middle of the night. No lashing rain. No patio furniture skidding about and frightening the dog.

Where did it go?

So far, I haven't been able to find out. The news sites still have the "Brace Yourselves"  and "Wild Weather" headlines. Can anyone else fill me in?

Driving Rain

Rain, rain, go away...
Originally uploaded by Ian Crowfeather.

I'm used to driving in rain. Coming from Manchester, the alleged rain capital of the UK, you had to get used to it. It never bothered me.

I'd go up and down the motorway, along A roads and through back country roads in my quest to get to and from work and never got fazed.

Which is why it doesn't faze me here when it rains.

But it seems to faze an awful lot of other people.

Not sure what it is. Could be that rain doesn't happen much outside of Winter so maybe people forget how to drive in it in between. Maybe it's because when it does rain we don't get the drizzly type, we get the "full blown massive drops coming down very fast" variety. 

Whatever it is, everyone slows down to a virtual halt as if they don't trust their tyres to keep on the road or their brakes to work when required. I'm all for slowing down in the rain but not to ridiculously slow speeds where it's positively dangerous. You run the risk of being that slow that people have difficulty judging your speed and/or the people behind you getting that fed up of going at 20km an hour that they overtake you at any opportunity whether or not it's safe. Because, let's face it, 20km an hour is not a speed at all, it's a crawl.

So to the people of Perth who don't like driving in the rain, please try to keep your speed up to a decent level (obviously within the speed limit!) and let the rest of us have a chance of getting past you without getting frustrated! 

There's no rhyme or reason to it.

When is Chocolate not Chocolate?

Chocolate Bars
Originally uploaded by yum9me.

Mmmm, I have to admit it, I am a HUGE chocolate fan. Pretty much anything will do but a big bar of Galaxy was my particular favourite.

Now I appreciate that some things don't travel well. Beer, for instance. I have been reliably informed over the years by husband and friends that beer doesn't travel well. Even when made locally to the original recipe it changes taste due to the change in water.

Surely this can't be the same of chocolate? I mean it's not a drink so the water taste flucuations can't have an impact so why does chocolate taste different here than back in the UK? Chocolate is chocolate is chocolate surely?

Well no actually it isn't. Not when an extra ingredient is added. Don't ask me what the extra ingredient is called or how it works. But I know what it does, it slows down the melting process.

Because our temperatures are hotter, the chocolate in the cupboard will melt pretty easily in Summer so they add an extra ingredient that slows down the melt. Only it changes the taste and texture of the chocolate and not in a good way.

I've just had a thought, is that why Swiss Chocolate is meant to be the best in the world? Maybe you need cold for chocolate to work.

My solution? To buy Lindt chocolate and pop it in the fridge.

Mmmmm.

Book Review - Pemberton Wine Region by Alex Bond

Pemberton Wine Region by Alex Bond is a great book for connoisseurs of all things wine. This premium quality hard cover book show cases the forests, rivers, dunes, coastlines and tourist icons, plus information on local vineyards and wineries.

This photographic journey through the Pemberton region of the south west appeals to the wine tourist in many of us. Alex's photography captures the essence of this ever changing region over the past century. From his images of the towering Karri forests which were a source of material for  the trans Australian railway line, to images of modern vineyards and wine making.

Many wine regions in Australia are located in pristine environments where nature offers up spectacular landscapes and Pemberton is no exception to this. We think of Margaret River for its surfscapes and on the beach, Swan Valley for its rolling hillsides and river views. Pemberton offers a unique and picturesque forest backdrop for the traveler to this region.   The famous Karri forests are unique to our states southwest, growing widely in the area thanks to high rainfall.

On previous travels to Pemberton and surrounds, the standout memories from the region have been the abundance of lush greenery at every point you turn. The vineyards that sweep across the landscape are truly spectacular, changing from season to season, a flush of growth in the Spring sees the region burst into green from an otherwise dormant past few months. Over summer the vineyards offer a lively, colourful solace for the tourists escaping their drought stricken Perth gardens.

Whether you pick up Alex's book for a colourful addition to your coffee table, or to provoke ideas for your next holiday - you are sure to enjoy it cover to cover!

This hardcover 144 page book is available at good book stores and online at http://www.alexbond.com.au/, RRP $49.95.

Book review written by Carl Thornton.

Brrrr, Told You it Could Get Cold

Burns Beach
Originally uploaded by thisperthlife.

I know, I know, I've heard it all before (many times from my relatives in the UK) but it does get chilly here especially when you've acclimatised.

I was trying to explain it to my brother a couple of weeks ago when I was telling him that when it's 18c and you're in the shade with a bit of a wind blowing it can be quite chilly.

He, as normal, was scoffing at me. 18c to him is shorts weather.

So I tried a different tack. I got him to concede that the normal temperature differences in the UK can be as low as -10c in the Winter and up to 34c in the Summer. He agreed with this so then I said that the differences in Perth can be as low as 0 in the Winter and up to 44c in the Summer. So far so good.

Then I explained to him that whilst 18c seems warm to him it was the equivalent of 8c to us. That's when he went a little quiet and after a few prompts conceded that was he wouldn't be wearing his shorts in 8c and would be complaining of the cold a little bit in those circumstances.

Result!

So when I tell him on our next phone call that it went down to 0 last night (which is the equivalent of -10c to him) and we don't have the benefits of double glazing and central heating I expect him to finally agree with me!

Ocean Reef Development

Ocean Reef Boat Harbour
Originally uploaded by thisperthlife.

The new proposed Ocean Reef development has got a support group on Facebook.

If you would like to join the group and participate in the on-going discussion then search for the group "Support the Ocean Reef Marina Development" and have your say!

Perth in the Top 25 Again

WACA
Originally uploaded by thisperthlife.

Perth has once again been rated among the world's top 25 cities.

Australia had three cities in the top 25; Sydney at 10th place, Melbourne at 18th place and then Perth, at 21st place.

Australian cities outside the top 25 were Adelaide at 30 and Brisbane at 34. 

The 2009 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey by Mercer ranked 215 cities against a criteria that included subjects like politics, economics, the environment, personal safety and public service.