I lived in Perth in the late 80s, in the years following the America’s Cup victory. They were great days. Perth’s had some ups and downs over the years, but it’s on one big upswing right now. We came in from the north (I guess that’s obvious) along a new road from Cervantes, via Lancelin and into the northern suburbs of Perth. Suburbs that didn’t exist when I lived here! I cannot describe how enormous the houses are at this northern end of town. Huge! Really huge! Either they have lots and lots of children here, or a lot of empty rooms. It’s not possible to need houses this big.

We’re staying with our good friend Andrew in North Fremantle. Andrew and John went to Uni together, and he came to live in the west while I was here too. So for the first time in our 10 weeks on the road (so far), we slept in a bed! It was very, very nice. Trevor the Trailer is good, but not that good. We had showers in a room you could swing much more than a cat in, and we even watched the news on the television. Actually, we haven’t missed the tv. It’s been a rather pleasant election campaign at our end. And best of all – a washing machine all to ourselves.

Perth marks something of a milestone in our trip. We’re enjoying catching our breath, staying with Andrew and meeting his new lady – Michelle. Perth is where John and I met, and we are having fun pointing out all the places we remember to the boys.