Anyway after wasting several hours in the casino we headed outside where I was standing under this lamppost thing when it started shooting out flames really high into the air!! I nearly died of fright!!! And it was bloody hot!! Rosie said I looked a sight with my mouth wide open unsure whether to run or not..!! eventually I recovered enough to take a photo or 2!! When we looked at our watched it was midnight so don’t know if that happens every night or not but it was cool!!

Then we wandered home to the shitty hostel and a crappy nights sleep.. when I woke up it was thankfully silent.. however my door wouldn’t open.. as I pushed it someone rolled over.. it was mayhem.. unconsious bodies everywhere with a weary cleaner picking up bottles from around them!! (god don’t envy her job!)
I put my bags in the storage and went to explore… in the morning I went to St Kilda.. had a swim and a relax and explore.. but there were a shed load of jelly fish around which made swimming a bit scary.. then hopped on another tram to Brighton.. obviously I had to go to Brighton. I was across the other side of the world from the real one and wanted to see if this one was anything alike.. well it has a beach and a sea.. but other than that… it was sandy, hot and I had a great swim.. there seemed to be one loan café.. and not a lot else! But I had a great time!

I had agreed to get a bus to my help x job as the older lady seemed to be having a heart attack with me hitching down the coast.. and it only cost $10 for a 3 hour journey.. bargain!!
The bus wasn’t until 6pm and got in at 9:20pm where Margaret picked me up and took me to their farm.. her husband is called Tom, they have a fostor son called Dylan and there were 3 other wwoofers, swiss couple called Melanie and Marc, and a Japanese guy called Tommo..
Margaret is a retired school principle.. and during her last years there was this child who would be kicking screaming, biting and she would be constantly called to get him out from under tables after he trashed rooms etc, he was officially the worst child abuse case in the state.. having experienced all 4 main forms of abuse, and having aquired brain injury.. from what who knows? (his mum taking heroin while pregnant or abuse??) and ADHD, and severe anxiety.. so you might have thought she’d be glad to escape this child when leaving her job..? no. she took him with her!! She’s been fostoring him 7 years so far.. and now he’s 14.. he’s not an angel, and takes Ritalin and various other medication, but he’s a million times better than he was.. and Margaret says she would have been bored otherwise after retirement!! He keeps her on her toes!!
www.fawcettcottage.com.au is the web of the place..
At first I really wasn’t sure about Tom and Margaret’s.. they spoke to me like I had special needs.. there was a rule book the size of the bible.. with things like don’t touch the cheese (an obsession of hers), and 1 minute showers in the evening only and don’t be lavish with the jam…! And they keep the milo (chocolate powder) locked in a safe! But I got kind of used to it.. and settled and friends with Melanie. The hours were good too, very clear 9-1 and then an hour after dinner..
I enjoyed milking the cow, collecting the eggs, bottle feeding the lamb.. but obviously she didn’t actually need that many woofers, especially when Vincent turned up too! So I offered to go and stay with a friend of theirs who have a horse farm. I was sad to say goodbye to everyone.. but happy to see somewhere else and have new experiences.. and Margaret gave me a fantastic reference for help x saying she left me running the farm for 2 days (which she did!) I quite enjoyed it to be honest!!

So, on the Wednesday Jo came to pick me up from Margarets and we went in to do her shopping on the way home.. I have never been to a supermarket before where someone buys the most expensive of everything!! (all organic, gluten free) or so much, 2 trolleys worth.. she said they had nothing in.. so when we got home I expected the cupboards to be bare.. but they were overflowing!!