The Theatre Royale in Melbourne was magnificent and even though we were way back in the heavens, it didn’t subdue our enjoyment of the show.

Besides the great singing, colourful sets and interesting portrayal of the paradoxes within the concepts of good and evil i.e. that all is not black and white, highlights were realising Anthony Callea was a munchkin and sharing the audience with two drag queens (dressed as white and black witches of course).

We were lucky enough the next week to see Guys and Dolls the musical as well as Andrew’s Mum couldn’t go. It turned out to be excellent (I wasn’t expecting a lot from it) and we were surprised to see Magda Szubanski, Gary Macdonald and Lisa McCune in the cast.

Speaking of Melbourne culture, the town is going wild today with AFL grand final fever.  Since we live near Hawthorn, I’m thinking of adopting that team even though I know zilch about the game.  More interesting though was picking up our new Honda Civic from Ballarat this morning (nice new car smell) and second to that, seeing a truck catch flames on the freeway while driving back! Luckily the people had gotten out in time and were running up the road warning the other drivers.  We just got past as two fire engine raced up so probably avoided a traffic jam.

We had a superb time, living it up at the Le Meridien hotel in KL (same group as the Hilton which was next door) - it was so convenient opposite Station Sentral but also luxurious with our bathroom overlooking the city including the twin towers (which we did go up on our second last day) from the huge window right next to the bath - spectacular at night with a candle and aromatherapy oil burning eating the belgian chocolates they had given us as honeymooners and sipping a glass of champagne.

The pool of course was great and the restaurants were amazing - an Arabic one and an all-you-can-eat breakfast and dinner at the other.  But it was also good to eat locally at Malaysian places and international including Spanish and Russian.

We were well impressed with the transport system in KL - very efficient train service from the airport and around the city as well as a monorail.  We also caught a bus to Melaka, a former Portugese colonial town which was historically interesting especially a traditional Malay villa we visited.  We did the tourist thing and went round on a trishaw - could barely understand a word of our guide and he spolit it a bit because he was sneaky about the fare at the end.  Oh well.  Also did some shopping in KL - an abundance of clothes, shoes and electronic goods - but didn’t buy a lot.  I never feel that shopping is a good use of a holiday.

Langkawi was relaxing, staying in a wooden chalet at a big resort with jungle surrounding it and stretching down to the shore. There were heaps of monkeys there and we saw big birds and squirrel-type creatures.  We went up the cable car to get a spectacular view from the mountains in the centre of the island - scary as very steep and we hired a car and explored the whole island, playing golf one day, a present from Andrew’s dad and visiting a secluded beach on the north side of the island another day.

What a wonderful day from getting ready in the morning to the ceremony in the afternoon to partying with family and friends until midnight. I loved dressing up and getting my hair and makeup done with Loretta and I adored my dress and so wish I could wear it again.

Although it rained and we couldn’t have our ceremony outdoors as planned, it didn’t matter because at the Boathouse it was an intimate gathering with the sun appearing from behind the clouds in the background to light up the Noosa river behind us as we said our heartfelt vows that we had written together. And if rain on your wedding day brings luck, then we’re in for a charmed life together!!

We had lots of fun with Loretta and Matt in between the ceremony and party getting the photos taken. When the sun came out, a full rainbow stretched across the sky behind us.

The party at the Boathouse was excellent - great food and we so enjoyed seeing friends that we hadn’t seen in a long time - even though we didn’t have a chance to talk to anyone for very long as the time went so quickly. Our wedding dance went off well and it was fun to continue dancing with everyone to our favourite songs (even though not everyone liked our choice of music!).

A small selection of photos will be added here soon…

Next instalment: Honeymoon in Malaysia…

Very excited - the time has flown and all is pretty much organised although it has been an intense few weeks with the last-minute stuff like deciding on the seating and selecting the meals and wines.

It’s really just minor things now but still takes time and we are also preparing for our honeymoon to Malaysia which I also can’t wait for - will relish a few days of taking it easy by the pool.

Roll on Saturday 19th April!  A very momentous occasion indeed!!!!!

The crowd was enraptured. Picture a sea of black t-shirts (and one red one - that was me), hands pumping and the majority of the audience joining in with the words. There were young teenagers to baby boomers in the crowd.

I’ve got to say, contrary to my prior reservations about deciding to go to the concert with Andrew, his Dad, brother and good friend, it was an amazing show. They had fountains of fireworks go off across the stage, huge backdrops with their signature art-work, a three-person tall robot and best of all they gave a really passionate, energetic performance. The lead singer, Bruce Dickinson sang powerfully while diving and jumping around the stage for the entire show. He, the three guitarists and the drummer definitely have a charisma. The music vibrated through us.

There was no trouble from the crowd that I could see apart from a few people trying to body-surf right at the front and being hauled down by the security immediately.

They played their older music (it is 20 years since they have been to Melbourne) which the fans loved. A lot of the songs I knew as Andrew plays them in the car or at home sometimes.

It’s something I never would have done before I met Andrew but I’m really glad I got to experience it.