THERE'S DOLLARS AND THERE'S DOLLARS........

MONDAY 28th MARCH

  I got up reasonably early, had a quick bath and shot off for Kings Cross.  A bus pulled up at the stop ahead of me presuming (correctly) that I was heading for the stop, and I only had a 15 minute wait for the train.  I arrived pretty much on time just after 10.00am at Bayswater Car Rentals in William Street.  Although I had inadvertently deleted my confirmatory e-mail and therefore didn't have my booking reference, the car was there all ready and waiting for me complete with a GPS system and electronic tag for the toll motorways.

  I set off for Eastwood.  Unfortunately I had the window open and couldn't clearly hear the instructions.  I caught a "turn right" instruction and promptly got in the right hand lane.  There was no going back, despite the fact that I realised just afterwards that it was the next right not this one that I was to take!  No matter I was bound for Bondi!  After emerging from a lengthy tunnel, the navigator instructed me to turn around and head back the way I had come from.  Unfortunately its instructions kept telling me to turn into No Entry roads which I was unable to comply with.  It took quite a while to get out of this conundrum!  Eventually I was on the right road and arrived at Ward Street about 11.30am.  I picked up my passengers and we set off for Knolton Place.  My navigator took me the shortest route up the M7 and M2 and duly got us to no 11.

  I took Reilly for a walk and left Bridie and Angela to have a cup of tea (and probably a smoke in Bridie's case).  I then took them to the Plumpton Shopping Centre, where Bridie found a handbag, and I realised I had left behind the form to collect the letter at the post office that Robert had asked me to do.  The two girls found some tracks suit tops and bottoms that they were impressed with.  I found a couple of long sleeved crew necked tops also at $9.00 each and indulged in these as a precaution against colder climes to come.  As we were queueing I noticed Angela holding a $10 US note, and asked her what she was planning to do with it.  Her initial response was that she was going to pay for her top, convinced that she had Australian dollars in her hand.  I assured her that they were American.  She then pulled out a wallet containing $600 US.  She had changed these at Marks & Spencer in London and had even discussed where she was going in Australia with the teller, who nevertheless had answered her request for Australian dollars with American ones.  Angela hadn't noticed this faux pas, and was happily trundling around with American cash!  I said we would have to go to a bank in Mount Druitt to get the money changed.  So after refreshments Gloria Jeans, we headed off for Mount Druitt. After a lot of walking we found a Westpac Bank, but that was all to no avail

as they required a passport before they would change the money.  However we made a successful foray into the bottle shop emerging with beer and wine!

  I drove back to Knolton Place and collected the Post Office slip and went to collect the letter.  I produced my driving license but that proved to be no good as it didn't have a photo.  I went back to Knolton Place and returned to Plumpton for the third time with my passport.  Of course this time there was a queue a mile long, but ultimately I got the wretched letter. 

  Jerri and Pat turned up and met Bridie and Angela, and then Charlene brought Jayden over, whom she had taken to the doctor with his toe problem.  She stayed for dinner and regaled us all with tales of her travels in Europe and Fiji, not to mention discussing her foibles about toilet seats that I won't go into!

  I drove the ladies back to Eastwood and by the time I had returned the whole house was asleep, although Reilly woke soon enough and kept me company whilst I successfully redid the previous two day's blogs before retiring to bed just after midnight.