Adelaide Essentials

Actually, thinking about it, this is probably Australia essentials! One of your very first purchases when you arrive in Oz, and something that you really, really can't live without here, is....... fold up camping chairs! Preferably the ones that fold up umbrella style, with little drink holders in the arm rests! The 'low slung' ones I've seen around also look very useful, although I'd say not essential as we've managed without - those can go on the "nice to have" list!

We bought some when we first arrived and they've been invaluable. You take them with you on all occasions: to the kids' sporting events and training sessions, to open air concerts, to the drive-in cinema, to people's houses for barbecues, to office parties that invariably are held in a public park somewhere, and of course the obvious - when you go camping or out for the day to just about anywhere! In fact we have taken ours to so many places that we started off with four of them, and somehow have managed to leave two somewhere, but goodness knows where! The two remaining ones are now looking very much the worse for wear, the dog chewed her way through one of the drink holders at a very early stage, and a couple of the plastic bits on the hinge mechanism have started to give up the ghost - time for a trip to a camping shop methinks!

Just one small word of warning: went to get out our two remaining ones to take to the Pedal Prix at the weekend (http://www.pedalprix.com.au/) and realised we'd left them outside on the patio, folded up and lying on the floor (the chairs, not me!) OH picked up the first one, shook it open and firstly out fell three cockroaches - yukk, I hate those things. Flipped it open and on the back there's this huge redback spider, shiny red spot on its back - thank goodness OH hadn't picked it up by that particular edge. On the ground where it had been lying was an extremely large and very scary-looking wolf spider! All that wildlife on one little chair! Funnily enough, even after cleaning everything off it, we decided not to take that particular chair with us after all!!

The Pedal Prix was a great laugh. Unluckily for the competitors, the day was rainy and drizzly (quite a novelty I must admit, here in drought-stricken SA), but for us spectators that meant lots of spills and near crashes on the hairpin bend, as grown men (more competitive dads I suspect) hurtled round the track, mixing it with kids from high schools down to primary age (I think the minimum is Year 5 but that's still only 10 year olds and some of them looked so tiny!) all in their pedal powered vehicles, some a lot more professional-looking than others! By the end, there were vehicles with pieces hanging off them, holes, and held together with yards of tape, and a lot of tired little - and not so little - legs I bet! 9 hour race for the next event, followed by a 24 hour race in September to be held in Murray Bridge - must get round to booking a campsite....and buying those camping chairs!