Dursley is a small town where Chris's parents and brother live.
Chris spent his teenage years and early 20's in this area after he
and his brother Richard were sent to the UK from Africa (where
they were born) after the uprising in 1964.
Chris's dad, who is English, was a game warden in Tanzania
and this is where Chris was born.  His mother is Polish and Chris
& Richard spent most of their early years in Tanzania, where going
away on safari with their parents was a regular occurence.  Chris could actually speak
Swahili before speaking English, so going from running around barefoot in Africa
to the more regimented boarding school environment in the UK, was
a huge transformation to say the least. 
Chris still enjoys shooting and hunting to this day.

Below are some photos taken of Dursley and surrounding area
and also one or two of Chris & Richard in Africa when they were young.

Hunter's Hall is a charming, very typical English country pub.
We were lucky enough to attend an English hunt one weekend.
Chris's Uncle Roy, is a keen horseman and thoroughly enjoys
participating in the hunt, which is held on a regular basis.
A tradition before each hunt is to have a nip or two in
Hunter's Hall prior to the hunt - just to warm things up !

Dursley Area


 

Africa - The Early Days


 
Hunter's Hall is a typical, English country pub. If I had any pre-conceived
ideas of a what an English pub looked like,  then this is definitely it.
A wonderful, woodsy, atmosphere, the Hunter's Hall is a
great place to kick back and enjoy a pint or two.
The food is excellent and it is a favourite place for
people to gather before the 'hunt' and enjoy a nip or two
of sherry to warm you up.  The best part is that dogs are welcome
and we were happy to see a couple of Labs coming and going as they pleased.
Below are some pics of us at Hunter's Hall and some of the great
pieces of art to be seen.



 


Our two day stopover in Singapore on the way home from the UK was
perhaps not as enjoyable as we would have liked.  Chris and I were both
quite ill with the 'flu and this, together with the extreme humidity in
Singapore, was not the ideal way to end our holiday.
We decided to go on a 4 hour tour of the city the morning after
we arrived, even though we really didn't feel like it.
It was a hectic tour, with only a brief stop at each of the places
of interest - i.e. The National Orchid Garden, etc.

We were very relieved to be heading to the airport to
catch our plane back to Melbourne.  So all in all, Singapore
was not a favourite place to visit, particularly after being made to
feel very uncomfortable by security staff at Changi airport
prior to boarding our plane. We felt like we were under scrutiny the
whole time we were sitting waiting to clear customs.  It was a huge
relief when we took off and such a wonderful feeling when we landed
at Tullamarine at 2.30 am - we were home at last and would see
our beloved Weimaraners again after a fabulous nearly 3 weeks away !!


 

Singapore Stopover