2000

27 Dec 2000 - White Christmas (almost)
Several inches of snow and conditions cold enough to freeze the local duck pond solid greeted Dave and Sarah while visiting relatives in England.

25 Dec 2000 - Surprise 80th Party for Guy
Sarah and Dave journeyed to England for a surprise 80th birthday party for Guy (dave's dad) which was on Christmas day. A very large family get-together was held in a Faversham restaurant. All his children and most grandchildren were there and a good time was had by all. Dave and Sarah stayed on to catch up with other friends and relatives and see some of the sights.

20 Dec 2000 - Braided in Bali
On a recent trip to Indonesia, Sarah went along with the local custom of having her hair braided. It certainly saved Dave from having to brush or plait it for a couple of weeks!

17 Dec 2000 - Waiting for Santa
Well, the Christmas tree is up and decorated. Tradition dictates it has to be a massive pine, just trimmed enough to fit through the door and not poke a hole in the ceiling. We've gone for the hi-tech flashing lights this year, just waiting for Santa to turn up, he's sure to be impressed.

1 Nov 2000 - One man went to mow!
With the very wet and warm spring the grass here is growing faster than the mower can get round the garden. Pity neither of our sons, both finished school for the summer, seem able to find the mower! For those that remember the pampas grass front hedge... its now mostly charcoal, looking a bit black for a while but has certainly opened up the vista. Several neighbours have recently installed security fences, automatic gates and rabbit-proof fences. We are not sure whether to go for razor-wire and guard towers or leave it all open and unfenced, probably the latter.

16 Oct 2000 - Chris's double decadence
Chris has made it to 20. Happy birthday Chris. Currently studying for 2nd year exams which are coming up soon. Also back in "dreads" although a bit shorter this time. (we'll spare you the photo). We usually have the pool swimable this time of year, but it has been very wet and windy of late so spring seems at least a couple of weeks late this year.

14 Sep 2000 - Joan 80 years young
Joan (Denise's mother) just turned 80 and a large family get-together was organised at the Hills's place. All the Beatties came up from Hobart to join the celebrations. Adam, (Patrick Kerrisons youngest) stole the show by tucking into the cake as the candles were being lit.

2 Aug 2000 - Rosemary goes walkabout
Rosemary (Denise's sister) has taken a short-term teaching contract in the out-back; teaching aboriginal children in the Northern Teritory. Somewhat of a culture shock, but one way to escape from the Tasmanian winter ;-). She can be reached at alekaren@topend.com.au (mark subject attn Rosemary Kerrison). Doug has recently driven up for a visit.

28 July 2000 - Monkey Business
One member of the household recently attended a costume party. It was a considerable time before their true identity was revealed, and by the end of the evening they were well and truly "in the mist".

1 June 2000 - Limerick
There once was a donkey named FrankHe fell in the mud and sankHe jumped up and downAnd then ran to townBecause he needed to go to the bank...Catherine

20 March 2000 - Pink Pampas
The local forestry department have declared war on pampas grass and have sprayed our front bank with "roundup"containing a very pink dye. Looks quite specy, but will soon be dead. Once the autumn rains come I'll put a match to it, but its too dry just now.

6 March 2000 - Cath walks Tall - High Cath!
Cath is determined to be the tallest in the family, but has had to resort to stilts to be able to look down on Peter. Other recent events include a camping trip to the east coast by Dave, Denise, Cath and Sarah; Doug Kerrisons 60th birthday; and a hike to the summit of cradle mountain.

10 Jan 2000 - Key of the (car) door
Liz turned 21 to-day and is now the proud owner of her own vehicle. She survived all the celebrations and is now working in the Path Lab at Royal Hobart Hospital and living in nice flat in Hobart. Other birthdays close by are Peter (17) on 31 Dec and Sarah (9) on 31 Jan.

1999

18 Dec 1999 + 3 Degrees
Liz, Cousin Doug Beattie and his partner Jen all graduated from the University of Tasmania to-day. Liz in Bio-medical Science, Doug in Aquaculture and Jen in Accounting. Well done we say. (click on pics for enlargement) Liz is off to Hobart for a job interview at the Royal Hobart Hospital next week, Doug and Jen are already gainfully employed.

24 Oct 1999 - Final Round
After 3 years at uni studying Biomedical Science Liz has her final exams over the next few weeks. Lotsa luck Liz. Chris also has first year uni exams in Profesional Computing.

17 Sept 1999 - North to Noosa
To escape the very wet spring, Dave, Denise, Pete, Cath and Sarah escaped to Noosa for a week in the Queensland sunshine. A pleasant relaxing week that ended too soon. After another weeks holiday, the kids are back to school again.

8 July 1999 - Bouncy Birthday
To celebrate Catherine's 12th birthday we hired a "bouncy castle" and she and sister Sarah invited many friends up for the day.Much fun was had by all including a few older family members.

20 June 1999 - Rezults OK
1st semester exams are over, Chris and Liz both doing well and now on holiday. Liz has gone to Melbourne and Shepperton with boyfriend Andrew for a well deserved break.

6 June 1999 - Testing Times
Liz and Chris are on study leave (swat vac) and exams start this week. Meanwhile Pete, Cath and Sarah are on holiday for two weeks. Pete spent the first week completing "half life" and Dave is renovating the downstairs bathroom and pruning the vines.

20 May 1999 - Music Awards
Cath's school clarinet trio came first in their section of the Launceston competitions this week. Well done Catherine. Click to hear a sample.

15 May 1999 - Pongoes
Much back-breaking shoveling this weekend has seen the installation of a new french drain. Visitor's olefactory senses are no longer assailed when reaching the top of the driveway.

8 May 1999 - Panto Cath
Much activity this week as Cath is performing in a local college production of Aladdin, Many late nights and long rehersals, but the end result was magnificent. Well done Cath. A school money raising program has also resulted in a new photo for the home page to replace the very old one and updates to the recent pictures too.

10 April 1999 - Easter Activities
Good Friday saw most of the Hills down at Beauty Point to watch the start of the "Three Peaks Race", whilst Chris and Beth went walking and camping on the Freycinet Peninsular for a few days.

20 March 1999 - No News must be Good News!
Whassup? Not much to report...Took the two younger girls to the Moscow Circus to-day, they are going to be practising much harder on the trampoline now. Pete has been playing golf a bit lately, making use of Chris's clubs, it must be a phase they go thru. He is also back into Basketball with a local team this season. Chris is in Hobart for the week-end, his girlfriend is at uni down there so he is going to get to know the highway quite well. Weather is still warm, but there are probably not that many more weeks use of the pool for this season. Here is a picture of Pete popping a mono on his mountain bike.

14 Feb 1999 Up-a-grade...
The Hill kids are back at school this week after the long summer holidays. Sarah is moving up to grade 2, Catherine to grade 6, Peter to grade 11, Chris is starting a uni degree in Computer Science and Liz is entering the final year of a Biomedical Science degree. On the subject of upgrades, we have recently replaced our 4 year old 486 computer with a Pentium 2/350, including 6Gb of disk and a CD writer.

3 Jan 1999 New Year Update
Christmas is over and 1999 is upon us... Peter has just turned 16 so Dave's driving instructors hat will need dusting off again. It must be a good one as Chris passed on the first attempt a few weeks ago. Liz got excellent results again this year and has some work experience lined up during the summer before starting her final year of Biomedical science at Uni. The weather is fine and sunny, 27 degrees. If you haven't checked the recent pictures lately they were updated on 19/12/98.

1998

17 Dec 1998 Schools Out
All the kids are now off out of school until early February. Plans are a bit light on, but we are expecting the Beatie family here for Christmas and several other gatherings of friends and relations. A week of camping down the east coast is planned for late January.

13 Dec 1998 Showtime !
This week saw the girls perform in two excellent performances. On Thursday evening Cath and Sarah sang in the school choir in a performance of Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols" in St Johns church. On Saturday the dance studio put on its Christmas show with magnificent performances from Sarah, Catherine and Elizabeth. It was a bit of a special occasion as their tap dance teacher is retiring and they may not continue next year... Meanwhile at home the Christmas tree is up and sparkling with decorations.

20 Nov 1998 Honda Rools! OK
After looking around for some time and considering several options Dave has finally got another car. '92 Honda accord station wagon. Liz is really pleased as she gets the use of the '82 accord at least until Chris manages to pass the driving test. This has meant a major tidy up of the various sheds in order to make room under cover for both. This included selling a couple of old kayaks, one of which was nearly sold complete with mother and baby possum firmly ensconced in one end.

15 Nov 1998 Party! Party! Party!
Well Liz has now finished exams and is in a more relaxed mode. End of term Ball has been and gone and the summer lies ahead. Chris still has exams next week before completing year 12 and Peter has his leavers dinner for year 10 next week. Chris and girlfriend Beth look dressed to kill. (Click photo for enlargement)


5 Nov 1998 - CDs R Us (NOT)
Chris had trouble obtaining the CDs he wanted locally and ordered half a dozen via the 'net. A week later, the great excitement when the parcel arrived soon turned to a very long face when he found they had sent the wrong ones! Anyone interested in Canadian Brass bands drop us a line. I think some people may get interesting Christmas presents this year. CD-Universe have promised to send the correct ones so we are still waiting...

28 Oct 1998 - Pocha Hondas
There seem to be more Hondas in the drive than you could poke a stick at at the moment. We are currently car-sitting a 94 Prelude belonging to a friend as well as our 82 Accord and 94 XL180. The Prelude has a reputation for being quick as owner has collected so many speeding tickets he has lost his licence for a spell. Its in our garage to remove the temptation. We have to run it now and then to keep the battery charged though ;-)

16 Oct 1998 - Vote for Chris
Chris turned 18 to-day, pity the federal and state elections were two weeks ago (hehe). There was a bit of a party here with lots of his mates dropping in, but it all went of quite quietly with only a couple of people ending up in the pool. Liz is all dolled up and off to the university ball tonight. (we won't be waiting up for her return)

7 Oct 1998 - 9 Hills ?
The Hill family seems to have increased by two this week. Please welcome Fergus and Cedric, two furry guinea-pigs. A Cage has been hastily re-juvenated from behind the shed and they seem to have settled in well. At this stage Catherine and Sarah are being good mothers and they have food, water and bedding.

4 Oct 1998 - Flipping web pages
Chris seems to be into rap & hip-hop just now and has created a web page for one of his favourite groups. You can check it out at www.home.aone.net.au/flipmode

14 Sep 98 - Disappearing kids
Its two weeks of school holidays now and the kids are hanging around the house complaining of not enough to do, UNTIL.... Dave starts setting to work to clean up the pool and suroundings ready for spring and next summer. Suddenly there is no sign of them anywhere.

28 Aug 98 - Rapunzel & the Witch

It was dress-up day at school to-day. Cath went as Rapunzel with long braided tresses and Sarah as a witch, complete with broomstick.

8 July 98 - Cath turns 11
Catherine's birthday to-day!! Lots of presents to open, and the party is on Sunday with all her friends coming. Pass the parcel in wrapped up and the pinyata is made. Not much news reported lately as Dave has been working weekends for the past month and not much time for this stuff.

12 Jun 98 - BFG sighted in Hobart
Its school holidays here at the moment for 2 weeks. Denise took Cath and Sarah to Hobart for a few days, staying with the Beatties. While there they saw a full size puppet rendition of Roald Dahls's Big Friendly Giant. Liz is studying hard for exams which are fast approaching.

30 May 98 - Who you know!
Its not what you know but who you know that counts in Launceston. One of Chris's skate-boarding friends spotted someone with Chris's skateboard. They have now been persuaded to return it. The dreads are gone, brought about by a desire to find work? or recent female companionship? who knows but the result is an improvement.

23 May 98 - Cath's Concert Band wins Launceston Competitions!
Well they won their section and put on an excellent performance. Well done Cath (and Mr Scott). The clarinette and group also performed creditably as well as the choir which also included Sarah.

16 May 98 - ..... with brass knobs on
Meanwhile Dave is busy fixing all the doors that don't shut and replacing all the handles with lockable brass ones. No more intruders while contemplating in the smallest room :-)

15 May 98 - Win Some.... Lose Some...
Peter often misses out a bit as his birthday is right after Christmas. This year after having many problems with a second-hand bike, he is now the proud owner of a new mountain bike, front suspension, alloy wheels an' all... On the down side Chris has a long face as his skateboard was stolen from his locker at college this week, recent female companionship his only solace :-) ...... he has even trimmed the dreads!

2 Apr 1998 - Jury is In
Denise spent some time this week balancing the scales of justice on jury duty in Launceston supreme court. Outcome is yet unknown.

20 Mar 1998 - Tim Snips
Durring a recent trip to Sydney Dave managed to catch up with cousin Tim Findon, the legendary hairdresser of Busby Hair in Bondi. Much time spent mulling over times past and present in trendy Tim locations.

15 Mar 1998 - OctoRuss
Russ Bowen (Grandpa to the hill kids) turned 80 to-day. A large family lunch was held (click photo for enlargement), follwed by afternoon tea for 80 or so more friends and relloes from around the state. The cake was topped with a sugar bee-hive complete with bees which kept the conversation buzzing. Happy birthday Russ.

15 Feb 1998 - Pommie Sheilas

As part of a round the world and around Australia trip we were pleased to see niece Tracy Mayes and her friend Tamsin, who are spending a couple of weeks in Tassie. Liz is taking them down the east coast for a few days before she goes back to uni the following week.

10 Feb 98 - Another fine day for skateboarding !
Chris picked up another fine for skateboarding in the otherwise unused city square to-day. $50 this time. It's an expensive hobby Chris. (The council seem to have got his name wrong on the ticket so he might get away with it this time)

31 Jan 98 - ( 5 = 7 )
Our fifth offspring, Sarah, turned 7 to-day! The usual party/bbq with family and friends ensued. Liz is off camping down the east coast with some friends this week, Denise and the others probably going down to Hobart to see the tall ships, leaving Dave to batch for a few days.
18 Jan 98 - Keeping in the picture
The pictures have been updated to-day!

12 Jan 98 - He'll be back
We have a pottaroo (ankle high kangaroo) living in our courtyard, christened "Arnie" by the girls. He drops in just after tea each evening. We often have to chase him back outside. Its dry and brown here now, grass is crunchy underfoot, had to turn down the pool solar heating to keep it refreshing in the heat.

11 Jan 98 - Tamagotchi update
Catherine's is thriving, now 11 years old! Sarahs seems a bit tempermental and packs its bags and runs away nearly every day, maybe she's not cut out for motherhood?

6 Jan 98 - Liz makes Deans Roll of Excellence
Liz's 5 high distinctions and 3 distinctions in her first year exam results earned her a place on the deans permanent role of excellence. Onyer Liz, keep it up.

4 Jan 98 - Licensed to thrill
Chris passed his motorbike test to-day and is now dreaming of a CBR. (However one girl taking her test at the same time failed as her CBR/250 could not do a U-turn in the required distance... hehe)

1997

31 Dec 97 - Tamagotchi winners
Yesterday a Tamagotchi turned up in the post. It was from Uncle Toby for sending in the requisite number of boxtops of one of their products. To-day a second one turned up. This was from an on-line survey Chris had completed for Nestles. So now both Cath and Sarah have virtual pets to look after for the summer.

19 Dec 97 - Dreaded Chris
Chris has further reduced his slim chances of summer employment by having his hair put in dread-locks. Photo soon. (if the camera survives).He has been laminating skateboard decks in the garage, but they do not seem quite as good as the bought ones. Meanwhile excitement builds as it is only five more sleeps till Christmas. Liz is back from Qld, Peter returned from camp dishevelled and fishless. The girls christmas tap dance show has come and gone to much applause. Dave has been working most week-ends lately and there is not much under the tree yet, although it is up and looking festive.

7 Dec 97 - Hills Away
Well... summer is here now, Lizz is off to Queensland for a week in the sun with a friend to make use of the tickets Denise won earlier in the year. Peter is off on school camp up to the "Lakes" for a fishing trip. Smoked trout for tea next week? (some hopes).

21 Nov 97 - Girls Flat Out
The girls (Sarah, Catherine, Liz and Denise) had a great time going to see Michael Flatley in "Lord of the Dance" this evening. It might spur their tap dancin to even greater heights.

1 Nov 1997 - They're Off !
The plugs from the Tvs that is. Following a draconian tradition dating way back to 1994, the Hills spend November without TV. Lots of withdrawal symptoms in the first week, with protest marchs banners and bribes, settling down to something approaching normality by the end of the month. Hope the weather stays fine so the kids can play outside. Why don't you drop around for a game of Scrabble or Monopoly one evening.

19 Oct 1997 - Roll on Summer.
Well it was time to roll on a new coat of paint for the swimming pool this week-end. Funny how everyone finds friends to visit and important things to do at such times. Its finished now, looks good, all we need is a bit of sunshine to warm up the water a bit.

21 Sept 1997 - Brief Winter Sunshine.
Leaving Launcestons dreary weather and Liz at home to feed the animals, the rest of the hills spent a week at the gold coast for a bit of fun in the sun. We visited the dolphins at Sea-world and survived the Tower of terror at Dreamworld. Chris spent a couple of days at a friends place in Brisbane. Now its back to work and school for us :-( as Liz has her mid-semester break.

24 Aug 1997 - The earth moved for us
The light sleepers of the family were woken up last night by a mild earth tremor which had all the windows and ornaments rattling. (So they tell me)

23 Aug 1997 - Penny for them :-)
Read the visitors book Penny. We have set up a hotmail account for you.

15 Aug 1997 - Surprize Package :-)
Liz got a call to-day to say that she has won a package holiday for two to Queensland. She did not even know she had entered the competition! Denise had done it in her name. Who is she going to take with her? Why is everyone being nice to her?

13 Aug 1997 - Sarah's dribbling success!
The primary school had a dribble-a-thon recently in which Cath and Sarah took part. How many laps of the school yard can you run dribbling a basketball. Sarah may not have done the most laps or raised the most money, but did win the basketball in the draw! Well done Sarah.

30 Jul 1997 - Honda Recovered :-)
Well we have got the bike back, its a bit the worse for wear, but should be back to rights before too long. We have also bought a "snake lock" which is supposed to be bolt-cutter proof.

28 Jul 1997 - Honda Walks :-(
A sad day, our nice shiny red Honda motorbike was stolen from the local multistory car-park at the weekend. A real bummer. If someone offers you a cheap '95 XL185 with 6000km on the clock and "No Fear" stickers on the front guard give us a call.

26 Jul 1997 - Distinquished Liz :-)
Liz returned from 3 weeks in Sydney to find her first semester exam results waiting for her. Two high distinctions and one distinction! More marks than Dave got in his entire university career. 'Onyer Liz, keep it up.

19 July 1997 - Skate bored broke again :-(
Its not the only thing thats broke, at $80 a go, just as well Chris has started a part-time cleaning job , it may just keep him in decks!

9 July 1997 - Unclean, Unclean
The kids have a few days extra off school this week as the cleaners have gone on strike.

8 July 1997 - Fancy that
Cath turned 10 to-day! To mark the occasion she had a fancy dress party with her friends. We had an elf, a fairy,a bride, a whitch, a nurse and a construction worker. Much fun was had by all.

6 July 1997 - Skate bored brooze
Chris is grounded again :-( The skateboard is not broken this time, but his ankle resembles a football and his current mode of transport is to hop.

29 June 1997 - Post Exam Haze
After finishing all her exams for this semester Lizz set of for Sydney Town with a couple of friends. Too bad the airport was closed by fog nearly all day. They eventually got away about 6 hours late!

28 June 1997 - Classic Winners!
This week-end Peters basketball team played in the under 16 Launceston Classic competiion. After winning all 5 of their games on Saturday they went on to win the final on Sunday. 'Onyer Pete.

9 June 1997 - Ben Elton in Town
To celebrate Daves birthday, Liz took him to see Ben Elton live in Launceston. What a mega-mouth, he must have said "wank" 327 times in the first 27 seconds and never stopped for two hours. A good night thanks liz.

30 May 1997 - School Holidays again.
School broke up for two weeks most of the hill kids this week. Liz still has two weeks to mid term exams, but then gets three weeks off, she is going up to Sydney for most of them. Its pretty cold here at night now brrrrr. Not much else to report... the lounge suite is looking good, recovered in gold velvet corduroy stuff, much better and not before time.

15 May 1997 - Easter Bunny lingers on.
It's well past Easter, but easter bunny and his friends (and their friends) still seem to be hanging around the garden. We haven't needed to mow the grass for several months, but some of the other vegitation is starting to suffer. It must be time for rabbit pie.

30 April 1997 - Sk8 bored bluez :-(
Chris has been very bored and had a very long face this week after snapping the deck of his skate-board in two. Bad luck Chris.

12 Mar 1997 - Cath learns to reed.
Yes, Catherine is currently learning to play the clarinet and Sarah is beginning piano lessons.Peter's under 16 basketball roster has started up again, They have not lost a game yet :-)

17 Feb 1997 - Back to School :-(
Holidays are over and all the kids are back at school. Liz now first year university studying bio-medical science, Chris starting year 11, Peter year 9, Catherine year 4 and Sarah in Prep.

10 Feb 1997 - International chef drops in
After some drama with visas Mike (Daves brother) and Anne arrived from England for a visit bearing gifts for all. The kids thought he was Santa. (If the suit fits Mike) We had a great time catching up with all the news over a few beers and showing them around a bit. They also managed a whirlwind trip around Tassie in 5 days. Mike will long be remembered for the magnificent BBQ'd leg of lamb amongst other culinary delights. Not forgetting the apple charlotte Anne.

21 Jan 1997 - Visit by Guy (Dave's father) and Barbara
As part of a 3 month 3 continent trip visiting their children and many grandchildren they spent a couple of weeks getting re-aqainted with all the Hills and some interesting outings and hikes. They then spent a week exploring southern Tasmania in a large campervan. It was grand to see them both looking so well as you can see.

19 Jan 1997 - Doug Turns up
Doug Beattie spent a week or so with us and managed to create some imaginative bowls on the lathe from "driftwood" found in the cataract gorge.

10 Jan 1997 - Vote for LizZ
Liz turned 18 to-day and is now legally allowed to drink and vote, as well as being one year older. 'On yer Liz. Chris and Liz are off to see Spiderbait, Automatic and Silverchair to-night.

5 Jan 1997 - L for Launceston
Launceston is in for an "L" of a time as Chris is now learning to drive the car. He is also enrolled for motor-bike lessons which are a requirement before getting a learners bike licence.

3 Jan 1997 - Christmas past
Well... Christmas is over and its 1997 now. All is well. Christmas was an enjoyable family affair at the Hills with cousins from Hobart staying for a week, and many other relations dropping in and being visited. Wonder what '97 has in store for us?

1996

16 Dec 1996 - Vehicle roundabout
Toyotas are out... Nissan and Honda are IN. We have replaced our aging Toyota Tarago with a slightly more recent Nissan Nomad. Still an 8 seater van, but with a larger engine. We now also have a Honda XL185 trail bike for Chris to learn on and a bit of fun for all.

29 Nov 1996 - Schools Out For EVER
Well for Chris and Lizz anyway. Chris has now finished grade 10 at Riverside High and will be attending Launceston College next year. Lizz has now finished Launceston College and will be studying Bio-medical Science at University next year.

25 Nov 1996 - Riverside Leavers dinner
To-day Chris, resplendent in black tie and dinner jacket, attended the leavers dinner for Riverside grade 10. It was held at the Launceston Casino Ballroom. A good time was had by all, followed by a party 'till dawn at a friends house.

01 Nov 1996 - November, NO TV
For the month of November the hills are going without TV in an attempt to break the soap-cycle. Is it voluntary? No way..... Dave cut the plugs off :-)

01 Oct 1996 - Chris keeps greens
If anyone out there wants their bunkers weeded, fairways mown or the holes moved in their greens just see Chris who is spending a week of work experience as a green-keeper at Riverside golf club. Pity he doesn't mow the grass at home :-(

21 Sept 1996 - Holidays in the Sun
The second week of the school holidays saw all 7 hills take off for a week in the sun on Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays. The weather was great, many hours were spent swimming, sailing and the highlight was a scuba diving trip to the great barrier reef.

26 Aug 1996 - Basketball Semi-final knockout.
Peters basketball team had a failry successful season this year, finishing 3rd on the ladder and missing out on a place in the finals by only 2 points in an exciting semi-final match.

17 Aug 1996 - How much wood could a woodchuck chuck??
Russ Bowen at 78 has decided not to go bush to cut all his own firewood any longer. Son Greg arranged for 10 tonnes of whole logs to be delivered to Russ and set about slicing them up. Since then family members have been swinging the blockbuster and carting the split firewood to the shed.

10 Aug 1996 - Dancing Achievments.
Today the girls had their dancing exams and competitions. Sarah passed her level 1 tap and Catherine level 4, performing by herself for the first time. Liz now at level 11. Catherine also won an idividual trophy for her performance in "Ghostbusters"!

8 Aug 1996 - Soccer Final knockout,
Liz's soccer team had a good season, finishing top of the ladder, but were defeated in the championship final 1-0

29 Jul 1996 - Chris & Dave in the clouds.
Chris and Dave took advantage of a recent trip to Hobart to go flying with Bernie (Biggles) Samms from Prologic. The cloud cover was down to 1000 ft, but they had an enjoyable fligth over Hobart and surroundings.

29 Jul7 1996 - 2 Hills meet 3 Presidents.
This weekend Chris, Liz and some of Liz's friends made the trip to Hobart to see the Presidents of the USA in concert. They all stayed with the Beatties in Blackmans Bay and a good weekend was had by all, arriving home at 1:30 am the following Monday.

8 July 1996 - Catherine turns 9
Catherine celebrated her birthday with a medieval party. The usual games were played... Pass the castle, pin the tail on the dragon and musical thrones. A good time was had by all! She is also now the proud owner of a pair of roller-blades and the garden area has been reduced by the size of a large round trampoline.

10 June 1996 - Beattie Bunch visit
For the second week of the holidays the Bob, Sue, Alison, Martin & James came up from Hobart to stay. We have Command & Conquer, Kings Quest VII and DIG games CDs on loan for the week to keep them amused, the computer is never idle for long!

9 June 1996 - Its true, it does make you blind.
At the tender age of 48, Dave has reluctantly admitted that his near vision can be improved with the use of vitreous optical enhancers.

1 June 1996 - School is out
Two weeks of school holidays start to-day. Liz is off to the gold coast with Liz Hussey who lives opposite. Her folks have a holiday unit there. Two 17 year old girls on the loose with their own unit for two weeks.(No we are not giving out the address or 'phone number!)

1-31 May 1996 - Few Clouts cast
What happened in May... Not much it seems. Peters basketball team is getting on well in this seasons roster and if they keep playing well should make the finals. Liz's soccer team has won their last two matches with Liz scoring on occasions and Chris's school footy (aussie rules) team is also going well with Chris kicking his share of goals and behinds [:-)].

27 April 1996 - Cinder Bowls 'em over ! ....(
Well repected #triplej channel op "Cinder" showed the rest of a #triplej meet how its done at a bowling competition held in Launceston. Several Hobart #triplej regulars took the irc bus up here to meet the northern regulars. After Cinders bowling demonstration, they all went to Sizzlers for a feed and back to the "Hills" for (you guessed it IRC) till late! At the meet were:-Cinder (Rob); Mango (Andrew); Spunk (Sebastian); Stigma (Brendan); Voytek (Doug); Meriadoc (Richard) LizZ (Liz Hill); Dulcinea (Liz Hussey); Candice (Candice); Lurch (Chris); Chuckie (Charles)

23 April 96 - X-country champion
!Sarah was the first girl home in the recent cross country, held at the Riverside Primary School early this week. Congratulations Sarah !!

20 April 96 - Stage Fright !
Catherine has been limping since a section of scenery collapsed on top of her while practicing her tap dancing. Still... breaking legs is supposed to be lucky on stage isn't it ??

19 April 96 - New Home for 7hills
Due to the demise of our previous Internet Service(?) Provider we have now moved to Vision Internet Services, who provide a more professional service, and assure us that they will pay their Telstra bills. If you are reading this then you must have found us at the new address :)

7 April 96 - Movie Marathoners
Liz & Chris both went to the movie marathon at the weekend. (with separate groups of friends) Starting from 11pm and finishing at 6:30 in the morning! The movies included, Grumpier Old Men, Copycat, and Heat.For a bit of fresh air and exercise Liz, Chris & Dave went for a round of golf at Wally World (Grindlewood) the next afternoon, Chris winning as usual.

21 March 96 - Doug the Fish Waiter
Doug Beattie has started a part-time waiting job at a fish restaurant in Launceston to help him through his aquaculture studies,. The first night saw TWO trays of drinks succumb to the effects of gravity! So unless you are after a beer shampoo I would give "Shrimps" a miss for a while!

17 March 96 - Russ Bowen's Birthday
Russ's birthday (78) was celebrated with a BBq at the Hills place. Greg, Sue and Mathew came over from Deloraine, and Doug Beattie joined us (he is at Uni in Launceston). A top day.. the sun even came out for a couple of hours. Summer (what there was) is just about over now and the evenings are starting to draw in.

16 March 96 - TDB/IRC Meet -
Users of Tassie Data Bank who met through online chat gathered at the home of one of them (LizZ) this evening. So they now know what the people that they have been chatting to for months (some years) actually look like! It was brought about by a visist to Launceston of a regular correspondent from Hobart. A good time was had by all,. Loud music, food & lively discussions. Some members ended up in the pool, though not all by choice!! ... hard luck Chuck.

8 March 96 - Liz's Driving Test
Liz took her driving test to-day and PASSED! ....... Well done liz. Look-out Launceston. Whats next? Flying lessons?

6 March 96 - School Burns Down!!!
Every kids dream! The Riverside primary school burned down last night. (All our kids were home). Catherine is pleased to get a few days off, but Sarah will miss it as she enjoys going.

3 March 96 - Messing about on the River
We spent the day out on the Tamar river in Doug Kerrisons yacht, Ipacia. It was a glorious summer day for a change, we had lunch up West Arm. The boys went swimming, but the water was pretty cold! Doug has spent the last 18 months re-modelling and re-fitting the boat and it now looks good and is very comfortable.... Well done Doug, and thanks for a great day out.

24 Feb 96 - Aqua-Doug
Doug Beattie (our cousin) starts Uni in Launceston this week. He is going to be studying Aquaculture, and is staying at Kerslake Hall.

20 Feb 96 - Sarah starts kindy
Sarah started kindergarten today!! She has been looking forward to starting for a long time now, and is still very keen. She was up at 9am wanting to go to school on her first day, though she didn't start till 1. Lets hope she is still this keen in a few years time.

18 Feb 96 - Went to the Country, Picked a lot of peaches.
An urgent request from Joan Bowen (Grannie) sent the Hills down to Beauty Point to pick several buckets of peaches before the birds ate them all!

17 Feb 96 - Bring on the Dancing girls
Liz, Catherine and Sarah resumed tap dancing lessons for the new term. Sarah will be dancing to "Ghost Busters"! :-)

15 Feb 96 - Back to School :-(
The kids are now all back at school and the sun has come out for the first time in a month!

12 Feb 96 - New Biker
Sarah can now ride her bike WITHOUT training wheels! (Well its a big deal for HER)

11 Feb 96 - Basket ball
Peter starts basketball training for the new season with City Basketball club. He is moving up to under 16's this year so its going to be tough.

05 Feb 96 - Liz's Driving Test
Need to practise that reverse parallel parking ! Better luck next time liz.

13 Jan 96 - Sarah's Birthday
Sarah turned 5 to-day! She got a new walkman and is very much looking forward to starting Kindergarten soon

28 Jan 96 - Camping wash-out
Our camping trip to Coles bay on the East coast was a bit of a washout. We went on the Saturday and setup camp OK. The next couple of days were very windy but bearable....BUT then it started to rain on Wednesday. Fortunately we decided to pack up and come home because it is now 4 weeks later and it has rained every day since. The tent and camping gear are still strewn around the garage waiting for a fine week-end to put them up outside to air out!