Boxing Day holiday ... some results

New Zealand maxi yacht Alfa Romeo took line honours in the 65th annual Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race for her 146th consecutive ocean classic victory.

Never headed after leading the 100-strong fleet out of Sydney Heads on Boxing Day, Alfa Romeo arrived in Hobart at 10.02pm (EDT) today Monday, skippered by Kiwi salt Neville Crichton. She completed the slow 630 nautical mile voyage (1,170km) in two days, nine hours, two minutes and ten seconds.

Ironically the 100-footer was last defeated in 2005 by Wild Oats XI in this race, when the record was set of one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds. Wild Oats XI looks like finishing second some time tonight

Boxing Day ... what to do

If you are in Sydney, you can sail to Hobart ...

http://www.themercury.com.au/in-depth/sydney-hobart.html



If you are in Melbourne, you can go to the famous Boxing Day Test ...

http://www.foxsports.com.au/



Or anywhere else just head to the Mall/Shopping Centre for the sales ...

The story about Santa’s travels … how it started

Click below to check how Santa is progressing around the world on his annual delivery run ...

http://www.noradsanta.org/




or click here to see how this web site started ...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10418101-52.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1



Merry Christmas to all!

Effective christmas giving

What can I say?

Rain, beautiful rain

We have previously had some short term intermittent relief from the very hot, very humid weather, but we have now had some quite heavy (by non tropical standards) rain in the last few days. I am talking around 300mm since Thursday, with most of it from late pm Friday until this morning.

There has also been a tropical low weather watch giving us a timely reminder of where we live. It was the carrier of the rain and it then moved on towards the WA coast and has beeen named a cyclone - Laurence - the first one for the season.

The temperature dropped, the breeze turned up the pace and with the rain, the weather has been reasonably pleasant.

One of my mates of the cartoon world can add some humour to the situation ... it is just as well we have the Bureau of Metereology website to warn us to pack our umbrellas!

Thank you Swamp.

Pain ... it can get to you

The Boxer

Now the years are rolling by me
They are rocking evenly
And I am older than I once was
And younger than I'll be, but that's not unusual.
No, it isn't strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains
Yes he still remains.

Paul Simon is reported as saying: “I think the song was about me: everybody's beating me up, and I'm telling you now I'm going to go away if you don't stop."

I can relate.

Some lovely rain

It is two months since we got our first teasing rain of the season. 12 mm of gentle rain at the beginning of September and only one other fall in October. Last night we had our first storm of the season; firstly, reasonably gentle wind, and then out of (apparently) nowhere, a steady 44 mm of rain followed by a bit of lightning and some thunder.

www.swamp.com.au

There was one bad result, the small amount of wind dislodged some birds eggs from a nest high in the African Mahogany tree in our front yard. All that hard work for nothing. I wonder will the mother try again or perhaps some survived. It is far too high to even guess.

The garden really appreciated the drink.

The Office Fascinator

Sadly, for him, and his followers, it was not to be Bart's Bakers Dozen this year.












photo from News.com.au




Shocking, ridden by Corey Brown and trained by Mark Kavanagh has won the 2009 Melbourne Cup. His owner, Laurence Eales, revealed at the presentation that he had a pre-written acceptance speech in his pocket. If only he had shared that with us beforehand ...

Oh well, there is always next year!










Even Google got in on the act.


Fashions on the field were spectacular as usual (click on the link below for some of them)

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/gallery/0,23607,5061780-5017766,00.html#



The fascinators were out at the office Cup luncheon too.













At the last minute, I decided that I should have a statement on my head also and set to work with a few minutes and available props and actually produced an appropriately named office fascinator, which took out the prize. Yeaha! You will see bits of stationery and packing tape, as well as racing form, betting tickets and reminders.





















And ... it won't have to be thrown at the back of the cupboard and forgotten about; turn it over and it's a carry tray for 4 cups of coffee! Very versatile!

Unlucky for some; 13 the baker's dozen?

Bart Cummings has three contenders in this year's Melbourne Cup: the favourite Viewed, Roman Emperor and Allez Wonder.

He is reported to be wondering if he released his autobiography too soon.

And is Michelle Payne wondering if she can become the first female jockey to win the Cup, on a Cummings trained horse Allez Wonder?

She is the youngest of 10 children, eight of whom became jockeys, with her now retired brother Patrick the most successful of the siblings so far.

It won’t be a four leaf clover on her silks when she rides tomorrow, but it could be a lucky clover to match the “lucky for some” number 13 win for Bart Cummings if she crosses the line first tomorrow.

Incidentally, Allez Wonder starts from barrier 13.

picture from News.com.au

Shake, rattle and roll

At 12.10 am on Sunday morning as I was getting ready to go to the airport for a quick interstate trip, things started to move for me.

Quickly I realized that it was an earthquake and as we live in a concrete house, I decided it was time to move outside.

Once my heartbeat had gone back to normal, I gathered by gear and headed to the airport, figuring that if I was on a plane, in the air, I wouldn't notice any aftershocks! There were two aftershocks on Sunday, but people hardly noticed them.

It was a 6.9 shake located 230 km (145 miles) NNW of Saumlaki, Tanimbar Islands, in Indonesia - 700 km north of us.

A quick look at the earthquake page tonight shows 28 earthquakes in the region in the last week and that large yellow one north of Darwin is the one that shook us up.

picture from U.S. Geological Survey

The Global Village … the big picture … we are really but a small thumbnail

Here I have been, having a bit of a moan since the weather warmed up, got more tropical. But where do I live … in the tropics!

In the last week, however, in several other places around the equator there has been a bit more than just humidity happening.

Last week it was floods in the Philippines, caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/asiapac/stories/200909/s2699997.htm

Three days ago there was a 8.0 earthquake in American Samoa, which initiated a monstrous tsunami which swept ashore killing hundreds and injuring many more, and destroying villages before it.

http://www.news.com.au/features/0,,5019260,00.html

Two days ago there was a 7.6 earthquake off Padang in Sumatra, Indonesia, collapsing buildings and causing another tsunami. The death toll increases with each news broadcast, but is at least 1000, with many, many more still trapped.

Look at the earthquake map on the link below and see what I mean.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/

It will update by the minute, but I am sure you will get the picture; when I copied this link there had been 73 aftershocks in Samoa and 5 in Sumatra.

All this is happening so relatively close to us.

This is all too glum and I felt I would post the latest Swamp cartoon to lift our spirits. It sort of seemed relevant really. It hasn't been a good week.











Copyright 2009 Swamp Productions Pty Ltd

Get out of the heat ...Boots and all

When you live in the tropics, the build up has started, it's hot and it just won't rain to give you a break, what do you do for some sanity?

You look for something to do in airconditioned premises, that's what you do!

Now I know that you know that girls just love to go shopping; but right at the moment that is a bit of a chore for me ... so I have to think of something else.

Ahha ...go to the movies!

So we have just been to the movies to see Charlie and Boots. It's an Australian movie starring Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee), Shane Jacobson (Kenny), Roy Billing, Rebecca Asha, and Morgan Griffin.

A father and son travel from Victoria to Cape York to fulfill their lifelong ambition to fish off Australia's northern tip.

If you know any of the male actors, you will realize that it is going to be funny, but there is a bit of a message there also.

They cover quite a bit of distance and even visit the country town I called next door when I was growing up. I even recognised some of the scenery, particularly the Warrambungle Mountains.

It's worth a watch ... don't leave when the credits start rolling; wait until the absolute end for the cameo line from Paul Hogan.

click below for the trailer.
http://media.smh.com.au/entertainment/trailer-park/trailer--charlie-and-boots-711608.html

Still no more rain ... looking for clouds

Some humour might help ...

swamp.com.au

It is nigh

The subtle rustle of long dry leaves, the sweet smell of fresh rain on dry soil and dust, the gentle tinkle of raindrops on the roof, and then the real giveaway – the initially hesitant warble of green tree frogs wakened out of hibernation …

Yep, if you have any idea of living in the tropics, you will have recognised it - we had our first rain for the season last night.

12mm of gentle rain, which washed away the surface dirt, cooled the air and this morning, everything looks fresh and clean.

Yesterday had been real buildup weather, the first I’ve noticed this year and last night’s rain cooled it down no end, even cool to sleep without the airconditioner. But, I have no doubt it will be onwards and upwards from here on until the regular rains arrive around Christmas.

Text messaging the old fashioned way ...

Well ... look what got me back!

Territorians can this week send a message in the old fashioned way - by morse code.
Back to Morse Week is again being staged at Lyons Cottage on Darwin's Esplanade, with former telegraph operators on hand to send a free telegram to anywhere in Australia.

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/06/19/59741_ntnews.html

This is the rather insignificant looking little building I will be going to tomorrow to watch these talented operators send a telegram for me.

Dot dash dit dah ... call it what you wish

Today is the anniversary of Samuel Morse's birthday. I probably would have missed it, had it not been for my old friend





































Rather an intersting guy ... Google him.

Just cruisin' on an Easter Sunday afternoon ...

Seen this afternoon on the bikepath near our place.

I guess this has got to be one way to burn up those Easter egg calories taken in earlier in the day.

And, yes, they are on uni cycles, and that is one real cool cruiser, sitting pretty, up high, watching the world go by.

Look before you put that in your mouth …

Queensland parliamentarians have been told to get fit! Exercise will do it, they have been told.

Captain Bligh has issued the orders. I wonder will there be another mutiny? The last one, after all, was enacted not far from the sunshine state.

Many of us have heard that advice, and have gone down that path, or around the block, of whatever. And it hasn’t always worked in the way we wanted. We wanted to lose weight and it didn’t happen. We walked, we exercised, we were good, weren’t we? And we still didn’t get the reward we wanted.

We even followed the next line of advice too, didn’t we? Cut down on the fat; that will do it.

But did it really?

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25013262-23289,00.html

I know I have been on this soapbox before …

http://veronicas-secrets.blogspot.com/2008/12/sweet-and-deadly-for-waistline-how-to.html

... but I have experienced it for myself and feel better for it.

Cut down on the sugar and the short time satisfaction carbs (not all of them are bad!) and your body will thank you for it.

Picket fences in the City

A bit of history …
Laid out by Colonel Light in 1837 as an urban satellite with 341 acre blocks surrounded by Park Lands, North Adelaide soon became a dormitory suburb for the social elite – wealthy business and professional men who built large mansions, mostly in Upper North Adelaide. Lower North Adelaide, by contrast, tended to be predominantly inhabited by labouring classes, artisans and tradesmen who lived in cottages on small allotments. A burgeoning colonial middle class also chose to live in North Adelaide, their villas and terraces endowing the suburb with much of its distinctive Victorian architecture.

A few minutes north of Adelaide’s city centre you’ll find North Adelaide, which is home to two of Adelaide’s most loved “eat streets”, sporting a bustling atmosphere, boasting everything from coffee shops and fast food to cafes, pubs and five-star dining.

You will also find tree-lined streets, tiny lanes, majestic mansions and cottages fronted with picket fences.

If there is space between the picket fence and the front door of the cottage you will sometimes see a traditional cottage garden. Adelaide is proud of its ability to normally provide excellent growing conditions for roses (you will even see them on the median strips of the roadways), and if there is a gardener in the house, there will most likely be several rose bushes in that cottage garden. Often, however, there is barely space for a tiny verandah with intricate wrought iron work under the eaves.

The very sunny weather did not provide perfect flat light conditions for photos, so forgive the shadows, but if you click on the photos, you can see some of the character of the place.

Most of the houses in the photos are in either Mackinnon Parade or Main Terrace.

For a bit of information about the tourist potential and details of the area, have a look at the link below.

http://www.melbournestreet.com.au/history.html

Old Houses in the Adelaide Hills

When I first drove through Mt Barker I decided that it may be a town with a long and venerable history. From memory, the sign at the beginning of the main street said “Historic Gawler Street” – that was a fair warning! The town centre has many historic buildings nestled beside modern ones, including the inevitable Maccas (it’s not exactly nestled, rather standing out there on it’s own with a surrounding carpark!) and new shopping centres. Historic Gawler Street does, however, have some old time buildings that work and blend well.















A bit of history …

What is today known as Mount Barker was first sighted by Captain Sturt from Lake Alexandrina in February 1830, though Sturt believed he was looking at Mount Lofty, which Flinders had discovered in 1802. Captain Collett Barker rectified this error when he undertook a survey of the district in 1831. Sturt renamed the mountain in honour of Captain Barker who was killed by Aborigines while exploring near the mouth of the River Murray later that year.


















Captain Sturt reported favourably on the agricultural potential of the area, with rich soils and luxuriant native pastures of the surrounding undulating hills and plains, but it was not until the late 1830s that this area was explored further. The first Special Survey of the Mount Barker District was opened to prospective buyers in March, 1840. Land was cleared and the rich agricultural land was developed for grazing and crop production. In February 1840 the proposed layout of the township of Mount Barker was announced.

















Moving into the closer suburbs you will come across a large number of mostly, well kept and renovated old homes. These vary from tiny workmen’s cottages to large estate homes.


















Driving out of town towards the Laratinga Wetlands, I glanced left at an empty block and there sat what in it’s youth would have been a stately home. It took me a few dead ends to try and find my way, through the new developments, to the rear of the home, to discover that serious renovation was taken place there. I returned to the original viewing position and discovered that a closer look showed me that the main roof had already been replaced and that the bull-nosed iron on the verandah would be next in line as that is part of what was being done at the rear. I wonder if the vacant land in front of that beautiful old house will become a new subdivision soon.
















That cappucinno at Hahndorf would have to wait until the next day, because I had taken too long looking at “just down the next street.” I did however get one in Mt Barker at Giovanni Pizza.

Old Buildings in the Adelaide Hills - 2

There I was, travelling along the (old) Princes Highway, near Nairne in the Hills, and right there on the side of the road was another old sandstone building. After turning around and returning to the safer, other side of the road and pulling off to a safe parking spot, I took some photos of another building from the past.

More barbed wire to keep the adventurous out, some reinforcement to prevent further deterioration and there was a sign above what was probably, in its heyday, the front door.

St James School 1848. Could this one’s walls tell some stories!




Nairne was one of South Australia's earliest settlements, founded by Matthew Smillie, who named the town after the maiden name of his wife Elizabeth Corse Nairne. Established in 1839, it is only three years younger than the state of South Australia.

So this old building was there almost at the beginning.

Back in the car and not much further on some buildings once again caught my eye.

Hardly any room at all to get off the road, so pictures were captured hurriedly.

An old farmhouse, which has obviously had some reasonably recent additions, in the form of pine lattice work. There is character in those, what would appear to some to be absolutely ramshackle, buildings. It gets quite cold in that part of the world. I could almost feel that lazy wind whistling past there in the middle of winter. Brrrr!

Can you also notice how dry the paddocks beyond are? It is still drought in that part of the country.

Old Buildings in the Adelaide Hills

I recently took a road trip around the Adelaide Hills. I came across some amazing old buildings, some still habitable, some not and some, I am not quite sure, but all of them with character.

Right in the middle of the supposedly fastest growing town in South Australia, Mt Barker, was a strangely majestic sandstone building which looked to me as if it had once been a stable, or perhaps even partly living quarters.

It sat high on the hill, with an aura of authority as it looked down on the town, knowingly watching it grow. If only those wall could speak … the stories they could tell. Sitting beside it was an old rusted plough … amazing feeling about the place. I would have loved to walk inside and feel the aura; but the barbed wire fence surrounding it made it reasonably clear that that would not be welcome. I do, however, intend to check it out again next visit. It sits on the hill in a large paddock, in the middle of a new subdivision on the outskirts of Mt Barker - Mt Barker Heights? - in splendid isolation definitely oozing authority. Below and around it are many modern homes and even the odd Mc Mansion, but it has not an air of being threatened. And I hope it stays that way.

Bit of history … Mount Barker was named after the explorer, Captain Collett Barker, who was killed by Aborigines at the mouth of the Murray in 1831.

Darwin was (almost) coolest city in the country

from NT News January 30th, 2009

Darwin may be coolest city
DARWIN could be about to set one of the most unusual records in the city's history.

There is a possibility Darwin could be Australia's coldest - yes, coldest - capital city today.

As the southern states are hit by a once-in-a-generation heatwave, the monsoon has seen mild temperatures in the Top End. The mercury is tipped to reach just 29C in Darwin today, the same temperature predicted in Sydney and Hobart. All other capital cities are expecting temperatures above 30C with 43C predicted in Melbourne and 42C in Adelaide.

Not a headline we would normally expect to see in Darwin, ever. It’s usually, hot, hot, hot.

We just got pushed out by Brisbane, experiencing some overcast weather which kept the temperature down.

Well, we were almost cool … my mother used to say “almost isn’t even half”, so she would not have been impressed!

The weather has been pleasant though … quite a relief from that earlier in the season.

Bicentennial Conservatory in the Adelaide Botanical Gardens

Adelaide is a well set out city.

South Australia was proclaimed in December 1836, and in 1837 Col Light in his plan of Adelaide showed an area set aside for a botanic garden. In April 1855, George Francis was appointed Superintendent, and the garden was opened to the public in 1857. In planning the layout, Francis is said to have been influenced by those at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in England and Versailles in France, together with certain German and Dutch stylistic influences. Even today, the Adelaide Botanic Garden has a northern European style, also reflected in its nineteenth century buildings.

Even in the present time of drought it is a 30-hectare garden oasis in the cosmopolitan heart of Adelaide city.

I have included some photos of the Bicentennial Conservatory.

Built to celebrate Australia’s Bicentenary, in 1988, it is the largest single span conservatory in the southern hemisphere. Designed by South Australian architect Guy Maron, the building is curvilinear in shape, 100 metres long, 47 metres wide and 27 metres high. An elegant steel superstructure supports the 2434 square metres of toughened glass which forms the roof, walls and doors. Its glistening and distinctive shape is a landmark particularly for visitors flying into Adelaide.

It houses a display of lowland tropical rainforest plants from northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the nearby Pacific Islands. Many of these plants are at risk or endangered in their natural habitats.

A lower walkway winds across the undulating forest floor and an upper walkway takes visitors among the canopy of tropical trees and palms. Both walkways have full wheelchair access.

If you visit Adelaide, try to make a visit.

My Street?

It doesn't look all that spectacular. Just a narrow little lane which backs on to some very nicely restored old homes in the city of Adelaide. Just around the corner at the bottom, there is a really pleasant restaurant which serves good coffee to weary and caffiene deficient travellers!