I am frequently asked if I get lonely when Jonathan clears off to the cricket for the day. You probably won’t be surprised to hear I’m very capable of keeping myself occupied.

Firstly I caught a few rays of vitamin D by the pool; I know it’s pretty gloomy at home so I won’t go on about the fact that I needed several dips to cool down.

Then there was a Christmas planning meeting with Head of Entertainment over a late brunch. His family are joining him in Melbourne after our flying adventure is over and Mark is keen to ensure the coolest restaurants and bars have been booked! He may be pressed into unexpected action in Brisbane if the cricket doesn’t start to swing England’s way a bit.

One of the huge positives of social media is the ability to keep up with friends from all over the world. Michelle is a former BBC senior news editor and moved to Brisbane with her family nearly 3 years ago. She is living the dream on the Sunshine Coast, and running ABC News in Queensland.

Together we rode the RiverCity ferry up and down the river. I always try and see a city either from the top of a double decker bus or from the water. We stopped for a little refreshment at the Howard Smith Wharves- a heritage listed area buzzing with eateries, Christmas parties and live music. The ferries are 50 cents per trip (that’s about 25p) whether you go a short distance or all the way to Hamilton. Great value for money, and Michelle advises to ride them at night to enjoy all the Christmas lights on the various bridges and huge houses along the riverbank. We can’t guarantee you’ll be accompanied by the same band who welcomed us on board.

With all the amazing food and wine on offer out here, I’ve been determined to do some exercise. Captain Cockpit and I have been getting up early and doing a two mile stroll around the botanic gardens and across the Kangaroo Point bridge really isn’t a hardship in this glorious weather - in fact it would be bonkers to miss it. Even better we have discovered a kayaking and abseiling club en route; no, of course we don’t have a go but we enjoy a latte watching the team building sessions going on. Dawney Tufnell (Phil’s wife) has introduced me to a form of torture called Hot Pilates. It’s where they boost the room temperature to 36 degrees and put us through 45 minutes of exercise. And we pay good money for it! I’m working (hoping) on the principle it’s sweating out all the wine I’m drinking.

As you can tell, it’s a hard job keeping myself amused while Jonathan is at the cricket, but somehow I’m managing to keep going and - given the current state of the match I think I might be enjoying myself rather more than he is.