Re: the problems in London... We've been flicking around the free-to-air stations for the past little while, just to see what's being broadcast. ABC has a live, continuous feed; channel 7 has much the same; channel 10 is showing Law & Order, (or something else with people in court, in suits); and channel 9, true to form, is playing 'The Footy Show' <rolls eyes>.
( <snerk> The cubs' father has just pointed out how big the ears are of the G8 members. My gods, look at Putin's! Wonder if there's a connection between big ears and megalomanic tendencies? Hm...)

But anyway...
The cubs and I had a good - I keep going to say 'weekend', but of course it's not, it's mid-week - time at Mum's. She drove down to pick us up and as always I drove back. We got to Mum's in time for a late lunch then the cubs and I shot off down to the village. Well, I shot off down to the village, and the cubs of necessity came with me. Why was I so keen to get down there? I wasn't sure what time the op-shop closed. : ) Had a good, long browse and found 4 interesting garments to add to the fabric stash, foremost of which was a Thai silk skirt. Oooh, pretty! Almost didn't pick it up, Autumn tones are generally not my bag, baby, but I'm glad I did. Hand-washed the skirt and though it was filthy it's come up a treat. Panels of rich, dark reds and golds and a vibrant brown - 'vibrant' being a word I hadn't previously associated with brown - in subtle, geometric patterns. That'll do nicely for the planned wall-hanging.
The cubs played happily in the park for a little while before they were dragged away so I could go and visit the patchwork shop. How they suffer, my children... I found some pure-wool felt! Exactly what I needed for my Balian plushie! Hahah! Ostensibly it was quite expensive but given it's 180cm width instead of the 90cm of the very cheap but truly awful viscose-felt, and 1/4 metre was more than enough, not that expensive after all. : )

On Wednesday we took a drive out to the Tarago River Cheese Factory only to find it's now closed to the public. Bit of a bummer considering it had taken us an hour to get out there but even so it was a lovely drive. We passed through dim eucalypt forests and over sunny-hill tops, and took our lives in our hands on some of the curves on the road. Not saying that I was driving recklessly but some of the people coming the other way...? (Tch. Just cos the speedlimit on a narrow, sharply winding road that skirts a steep drop is 100 km doesn't mean to say it's safe to drive at that speed.)
On the way back to Powell Town, where we planned to have a break, we detoured to see the historic trestle bridge at Noojee. The cubs had a ball tearing back and forth along the top, while I had a ball taking photos with Mum's camera. The structure is 21 metres high but the safety rail is well back from the edge so you don't/can't get any sense of danger. I had to stop the more adventurous cub from trying to climb down the slippery, steep 'track' (looked more like a runnel worn into the clay from rain run-off) running directly beside the bridge, instead of one of the wider, stepped paths that were far safer. He grouched, but I pointed out that a: if he slipped the only thing there to stop his descent would be one of the bridge's wooden supports as he hit it, and b: if he got stuck half-way I couldn't come and rescue him. He gribbled for a bit but stayed away from the path.
Powell Town is very small but gorgeous, even though it's still essentially a logging town. I'd consider moving there, honestly, some of the views of the nearby hills are beautiful, and the solitary fast food/general store/restaurant/cafe sells crunchy cabana! Mmmm... (Cabana is a delicious processed meat thing similar to salami, but when it's been left to hang and dry out a little it becomes crunchy and even more deliciouser. <drooling> The last time I went vegetarian it was crunchy cabana that swayed me back to the dark side. <g> )
Powell Town is also only 15 minutes or so from where Mum is now. Problem is there's no bus line out that way, I'd definitely need a car...

We didn't spend all day out, got back in plenty of time to take the cubs to the park for a little while again. These excursions are necessary cos Mum's unit is tiny and it can get awfully crowded in there with all of us and the cat.

Today, Thursday, I chivvied the cubs into packing their suitcases before we went out in the morning - saves the frantic rush later on before we leave to come home. We drove out to Warburton for the traditional visit to the Patchwork Teahouse and the equally traditional milkshakes for the cubs. Except this time they had lemon and lime spiders. Eh well. I got a couple of pieces of some very pretty fabrics and the perfect pair of wooden handles for my puffer-fish handbag. : )
We went for a shortish amble along the river - <happy sigh> trees, running water, what more could I want? - then into the township to browse the op-shop there. (Found some more fabric, hee. : ) I also found - or rather, Mum spotted and I squealed and pounced upon - a 2nd hand copy of the first book in a crime-fiction series of which I've recently read the 2nd and 3rd books. Pleased about that, now I can find out about the things hinted at later...
It started to rain just as the cubs and I were getting ready to leave Mum's. It'd cleared by the time we get to train station so we didn't get wet. Had a bit of an adventure on the way home though. For starters the bus-bays had been changed around so our bus now picked up somewhere else, and then, after clambering with our luggage on to that bus it appeared we might have got on to the wrong one, anyway. 'twasn't so, the route had been changed recently and we got home without a hitch, perhaps even a few minutes early as the new route seemed to be a little faster...

All in all it was a good, relaxing few days. Mum started sorting through some of her boxes of material while I was there. Fortunately we have disparate tastes in colour and patterns, my Mum and I, so it was only a small stash of fabric I had to squeeze into my suitcase. But I'm going to ignore the teetering pile of material for the moment, need to get back to SFSG and have a go at writing up the ficlet that [pinged] me just before Mum arrived to pick us up. : )