The skies were leaden and the wind whipped and worried, howling at times as the next typhoon bore down on the southern half of the island. Rain dumped at spasmodic intervals followed by whistling squalls with narry a drop: this was typhoon annoyance time rather than batten down the hatches time.

Barely days after the last one passed, another storm headed straight towards Taiwan but as we hoped for a bonus "Typhoon Day", where the city shuts down all official businesses and schools, we realized it was going to hit exclusively over the weekend to upset any leisure plans we had rather than give us some bonus time off work!

I went round to celebrate Wal's and Eli's birthday on Friday evening round at Wal and Annie's place. The grandparents are a touch out of favour with the two boys at the moment, a situation that W&A are hoping changes soon, as it is their only respite from very full days and nights with two rambunctious little boys. The big hit of the night was a set of radio controlled racing cars, and when the batteries were fitted and power was activated, the whirring of engines and crashing of cars into furniture filled the loungeroom for a good stretch of time!

Cass and I scurried over to the Carrefour Market across the river to do the regular grocery shopping on Saturday, dodging the stinging winds and spitting skies. My umbrella exploded against the wind on the way back, spines cracked in two and piercing the fabric....totally ruined! The day was very uninviting, so we organized some Uber Eats for delivery, trying out another Indian restaurant over near Shinkong Mitsukoshi. It was sweat inducingly spicy, yet tasty!

Naden had invited a crew of AFL tragics to his new place for viewing of three critical games in the last round of regular games for the year. Cass had been there before as Kristin had invited her over for other activities. I was super impressed with his "man cave"! Great stereo sound and giant screen projected on one wall by a ceiling mounted data projector, along with comfortable lounges and beanbags: I don't know how he ever tears himself away from the place! Not only did we experience excellent viewing conditions but Naden had ordered a tray or two of different flavoured "Leo's Pies" to add to the Aussie theme. A couple of pies with a couple of beers, entertaining games of football with informed fellow viewers; it was a great way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Cass meantime was negotiating the horrors of the big supermarket on a Sunday afternoon! She's bitten the bullet and elected to host the very first "Bookies" get-together of the year. This, of course, involves getting goods in to adequately supply food and drink to the group on the night. It was blistering heat and she got a little flustered, missing a few supplies on the list, so I scootered back down to get the extras. It, indeed, was a hell-hole! It seemed like half the population of Tienmu was in there all bustling and pushing and shouting and queuing (after a fashion!), so I made a beeline for what I needed and skirted round the edges as much as possible.

We're exhausted at work today as we stayed up extremely late to watch the final throes of the Ashes test match. Despite the fact the Aussies ultimately capitulated, the vagaries and intrigue of the very best test cricket were on display. Perhaps in the afterglow of such a game, one becomes prone to emotional exaggeration but I firmly believe this is the best day of cricket I have ever seen. I'm still stunned when I think back on all the twists and turns, the roller-coaster of emotions, and the almost unbelievable series of triumphs and failures, every ball so intense, over after over, hour after hour...unforgettable!

Photos: mirrors shattered by typhoon winds at the local temple, birthday celebrations.

Cass is reading a well written book by Anna Burns, the Booker Prize winning Milkman and I'm reading a poorly written effort, in fact, it's almost comical: Adrian McKinty's The Chain.

The greatest dumplings in the entire world? The most delicious pizza outside Italy? (and beating a lot inside from our experience!) The tastiest and least expensive craft beer ever? The most bizarre wibble wobbling bird that has become our talisman mascot?

All these Taiwan classics were on call this week as we delved back into our Asian life, our Antipodean adventure done and dusted, yet not forgotten, our minds now fully consumed with academic affairs and the minutia of running a classroom and household successfully.

Cass couldn't wait to get back to the incomparable Din Tai Feng. Pretenders come and go in this city and country, yet none can match the peerless service and taste sensations that steam out from the kitchen in precise increments, the wait staff whisking off the top bamboo cookers to reveal the exquisitely crafted xiaolongbao. You can plop one straight into the sliced ginger, soy and vinegar mix, and directly into your mouth for a fresh taste explosion: somehow piping but never scalding, a brilliant feat of clever cooking and even cleverer timing.

We also couldn't wait to get back to Pizzeria Oggi, where the offerings were equally sublime both in construction, ingredients and taste. Neither one of these restaurants has ever disappointed, which is not a bad record considering the number of times we have visited.

Uli's supplied Wal and me with some new versions of blonde craft beers from the Yangminshan mountain-based North Taiwan Brewing Co. These slipped down our parched throats like oysters shucked from a shell and the salty sausages with sauerkraut and potatoes on the side were as hearty and satisfying as ever.

" The Moop" even made appearances on our way to school for three days in a row! We look upon this camouflaged rarity as our personal mascot and a sign of good days ahead: he's hard to spot as he only wobbles his neck periodically, often standing stock still for great lengths of time. We decided that despite our enervating days and exhausted evenings, things must be alright in our little Taipei world!

I'll segue just briefly from that into our exhausted stocks: we are sleeping long and working hard....this start of school caper is like getting knocked down by a freight train head on, throwing up an arm and hanging on for dear life, scrambling up on the engine after an indeterminate period, pretending to take control of the runaway juggernaut, and steering it along the tracks. We're still getting dragged along at this point!!

Photos: see text above for explanation!

Monday: We're back! Crazy busy first day in the saddle, hopefully more words tomorrow. In the meantime, cop this photo album of the trip...

Tuesday: A furious onslaught of meetings and bleetings, conversations and appointments, discussions and brain percussions have got me thinking (and writing) like Dr Seuss. Suffice to say that despite being only 1.5 days into the first working week and being minus that main ingredient of a successful school (kids!), we're in a delirious whirl of action exactly unlike the bucolic calm of our endless days of winter sunshine back in a coruscating Newcastle.

The winter holiday was long this year, thanks mainly to a calendar quirk which means that yearly creep needs to be reined in by an earlier-than-usual break every ten years or so. With that mindset, the endless winter crept along quietly till it exploded like a freight train near the end of our time, catching us unaware with it's rapid termination and meaning a greater-than-usual rush at the end.

The holiday was punctuated by family visits of a similar, and different, kind: we saw Mum quite often in hospital, as a fall necessitated her admission, stay, discharge and some subsequent rehabilitation. This wasn't an entirely bad thing on our part as we probably saw her more regularly than we normally would, but I'm sure Mum didn't enjoy the pain and discomfort that went along with her dislocation from home and routines.

Cassy was able to see lots more of her sister, Kristin, this trip and they enjoyed lots of chats and long lunches at various cafes "up the valley" periodically as our stay progressed. Chris and Val were still away on their mega round-the-world cruise, so the sisters kept up the family tradition of chats and meals albeit in different forums, combinations and locations.

As usual, we were slightly afraid of piling on the kilos as our eyes lit up with "new"and "exotic" Australian foods and wines, so we religiously applied ourselves to our daily walk. Straight across the road to the Bather's Way, on to Bar Beach, steadfastly marching upwards on the Memorial Walk to Shepherd's Hill where we had a satisfying look at the northern view before spinning around and heading back. The energetic 6 kms did wonders for our trimness, though my proclivity for a beautiful Australian red wine each night did see me over-tip the scales just a little when we returned!

Unseasonably fine weather beamed day after day, week after week, lulling us in a fine caress and shocking us when, momentarily, it would revert to wind and rain and cold. Our yearly bike trip did not occur due to mechanical difficulties and mishaps, characterized by amateur mechanical patch ups and professional rescues from the middle of nowhere due to a flat tyre! We did manage a few day trips taking advantage of the fine weather, and on these trips, out in the country's winding byways, all the good old motorcycling feelings came flooding back. Next year, I'm determined to find a decent mechanic and get set for a better riding season.

We got to see friends and family at many set events: as usual, conscious that people's lives are rolling on despite us popping up, we waited to be asked for a date (!), only occasionally taking the initiative ourselves for big annual events or if we were hosting ourselves (as we did for Mum's party). This seems the best way to do things, but apologies to anyone who we missed altogether or saw sparingly: the time really does fly, we know!

Anyway, apologies for the stodgy writing and awkward phrasing: I lose a bit of my mojo during a couple of month's inactivity! Photos: various scenes from the break and a link at the start to a fuller photo album.