OMG it's 3.22 am and here I am but at least I'm not hogging the phone line when my landlady wants to use it. I've been on a mini tour of the UK and things have been going great and I've been having lots of fun (shock). Also (or maybe because of), I've been surprisingly calm about Oz and planning my trip but maybe that's because I haven't actually done any. At all. Hence my waking up stressing in the middle of the night.

I decided from speaking to everyone I know who has any links with Australia that I should stay longer than 2 months and seeing as I'm under 30, I thought hurrah I can get a working holiday visa. My friend applied for one the day before she went to Oz and having this in mind, I thought it would be easy.

Err yes much to your probable incomprehension, I completely forgot about the little matter that is cf... So when I saw all info about health and the dreaded need for a chest x-ray my panic levels became somewhat raised (this was last night, by the way). Now I come to think of it, about ten years ago, I read an article about someone with cf going to Australia and having to delay their entry date because they couldn't get a visa. Or was it insurance? Or maybe both. Um must definitely sort out my insurance tomorrow.

LUUCCCCYYY, when will you ever learn?

Anyway, after a quick panic email to my cf friend who spent 10 months in Australia and luckily emailed me back pretty promptly despite being in America, I realised that applying for the working holiday visa would be like throwing £70 down the drain. He had got his visa no problem but he had to go for a private x-ray and send in lots of letters from his docs which obviously took much longer than two weeks. Nothing unusual then and totally predictable but again, I forgot to engage my brain.

After I received his email, about half an hour ago, I panicked further when health seemed to be mentioned on every single visa and I saw myself not being able to get any visa and looking like Mrs Muppet of Muppetland after telling everyone I was going to the other side of the world.

But the internet saved the day again. I now have a three month holiday visa which means I can't work (but, to be honest, I was a bit stressed about how I was going to work and meet people and see Oz all at the same time) but I can do a bit of work (more my kind) including conservation-type things in return for board and keep.

Also, the visa is valid for a year so I'll just have to pop across to New Zealand after three months and stay there for a bit before going back to Oz. Now I've got used to this idea of going away, it seems madness to come back to the horrible British winter which is a breading ground for depression with a job and somewhere to live. Never mind without them.