Veronica's Secrets

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-02T00:05:00.000+09:30

Well, we all consider them, some of us make them, and most of us break them by the end of the first month ... Perhaps we go too big ...and we should start small.

If you think being small can't make a difference; then you have never been in bed with a mosquito ...

Old Lang Syne

2011-12-31T23:55:00.001+09:30

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

We two have paddled in the rising stream
as we tried to cross the Edith.
But cyclone Grant between us came
in one unholy torrent.

The brolgas in the bush can dance
in grateful jubilation;
that the wind blowing from the Arafura Sea
left them in peaceful isolation.

Who cares of walking slopes to pick
the daisies of long ago?
As long as we’re not beneath them
we’ll give next year a go!

You can raise your glass of Jansz, my friend,
and I’ll raise my Rumball high.
Let’s drink to memories of times long gone,
hoping better times are nigh.

So this is what Santa does, off season ...

2011-12-26T00:05:00.000+09:30

Politically Correct Christmas gift from Santa

2011-12-25T00:05:00.008+09:30

Something special was needed, a gift that he might

Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,

Each group of people, every religion;

Every ethnicity, every hue,

Everyone, everywhere...even you.

So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...

"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."

Today's post - thanks to:

Tis the night before Christmas ...

2011-12-24T00:05:00.000+09:30

It’s the night before Christmas
and all through the night
the tree frogs are warbling
to the Christ child’s delight.

A star to guide ...

2011-12-23T00:05:00.001+09:30

I look to the heavens, too cloudy for star guidance ...
a travellers plight.
The car tyres are squealing
as they race off into the night.

Silent Night? Not likely!

2011-12-22T00:05:00.001+09:30

The ta-ta’s are sleeping
in their leafy hides.
The locals are yelling …
sounds like they have imbibed.

The dogs, they are barking
disturbed from their sleep
in response to the yelling.
Can anyone sleep?

2011-12-21T00:05:00.001+09:30

Two geckos are fighting over one desperate moth
who, like Icarus, flew too close to the light.
Unless he shows sheer strength to escape
he wont make this Christmas night.

Winter wonderland? Huh?

2011-12-20T00:05:00.001+09:30

No hope of tradition
in this tropical town.
No snow or sleigh rides
it’s aircon to cool down.

Tis the week before Christmas

2011-12-19T00:05:00.001+09:30

Tis the week before Christmas
a hot steamy night.
Not a gecko is clicking
No squeaking of mice.

They are still only tuning up ... and only a bit off key

2011-12-12T20:31:00.004+09:30

Ah, the delightful sound that indicates that there might be life after the buildup ...

If you haven't lived in the tropics or even tried to survive the buildup to the refreshing rains of a tropical wet season; you may wonder what on earth I am rambling on about.

If you have been though a buildup, or experienced what the indigenious people of Kakadu say - when Gunumeleng changes to Gudjewg; you might have worked out what I am hinting at.

Today we had a lovely storm blow through, bringing about 13mm of cooling rain, which almost instantly dropped the temperature from a hot 31 degrees C to a pleasant 22 degrees C. It crept up a little later, but it has remained overcast and so appears cooler.

And tonight there is the beginning of the warming up of the Orchestra of the Green Tree Frog.

It will get hot again before the monsson decides to bless us with its presence; but while there is teasing rain there is hope of sanity.

And a little humour always helps, don't you think?

Thank you www.swamp.com.au

Too early for Santa

2011-11-28T00:05:00.000+09:30

I heard a number of things falling on our roof and as it is a bit early for Rudolf, I decided to go and look.

Our driveway was scattered with large twigs from our African Mahogony tree and bark off the gum tree.There was a large white cockatoo sitting in the Mahogony chewing limbs off, lots of them, and dropping them on us.

Thanks mate; are you going to come back and pick them up? No, I guess not!

Red cars go faster!

2011-01-01T00:05:00.000+09:30

Public Housing Singapore ... I kid you not!

2010-08-31T00:05:00.001+09:30

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pinnacle@Duxton

Architecture - School of the Arts Singapore

2010-07-09T23:05:00.008+09:30

In March 2004, the Singapore Government accepted the recommendations of a Committee on Specialised Arts School to set up Singapore's first independent pre-tertiary arts school to nurture youths talented in the arts, with the vision to groom the next generation of artists, creative professionals and individuals who are passionate for, and committed to the arts in a multi-cultural society.

The School of the Arts offers a unique connected arts and academic curriculum for youths aged 13 - 18.

The School opened in 2008.

Enjoy some photos of what I think is one of Singapore's modern architectual achievements.

Restaurant charges 'thongage'

2010-04-09T11:02:00.010+09:30

As I said in the post below; leopard’s don’t change their spots! Mr Spellman is back in the news and this time it’s about thongs. Thongs in this part of the world refer to footwear, not an article of lingerie. Thongs, flipflops, zori’s, whatever your local terminology is.

http://veronicas-secrets.blogspot.com/2010/01/every-gambler-knows-that-secret-to.html

A DARWIN restaurant is charging patrons $10 for wearing thongs while they dine.

The "thongage" charge is announced in a sign on the door of John Spellman's Tramontana restaurant on McMinn St.

Last night Mr Spellman said the "campaign" was setting the tone for his "boutique" restaurant. "It's a formal restaurant - tablecloths, napkins. I wear shoes and socks," he said.
"There's actually a button on the register. I just put it on the bill - you don't have to argue about it. Two lamb chops, one thongage.

Read the whole story below …

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/03/31/135971_ntnews.html

Darwin, being the town it is, has not let that news article rest without retaliation.
Read below and at the bottom of the article are comments from around the world … the story has grown and actually yielded fruit.

h ttp://ww w.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/04/09/138181_ntnews.html

After all, Easter is imminent, and you know what wet bunny fur is like …

2010-04-01T14:48:00.005+09:30

Update from the Bureau of Meteorology today …

“Ex-Tropical Cyclone Paul is currently over the southwestern Gulf of Carpentaria
and is expected to move south towards the coast during Thursday. The system is
no longer expected to redevelop into a tropical cyclone.

Heavy rainfall and strong, squally winds are expected to continue in the
Roper-McArthur District during Thursday.

A Severe Weather Warning is current for damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall
in the Roper-McArthur District.

No further advices will be issued for this system.”

That’s my boy! Zipped in here, zapped out there, spun around and zipped in again, gave everyone a dust up and then headed off again to have a quiet time to himself (probably eating Easter eggs!).

So bloggers; it is now safe to answer the door. I will be home for Easter, watching out for the Easter Bunny; hoping there are some eggs left for me.

Hoppy Easter to all!

Be afraid, be really afraid!

2010-03-28T22:00:00.006+09:30

“At 6:30 pm CST Tropical Cyclone Paul, Category 1 was estimated to be 95
kilometres south southwest of Nhulunbuy and 100 kilometres north of Alyangula.

The cyclone is currently stationary on the coast near CAPE SHIELD and is
expected to move further inland on Monday."

I guess this will not mean a lot to you, especially as Darwin is not even in the picture above (it is just left of where it ends) ... but let me tell you something ... it is scaring me. I am packing my bags and leaving town; actually I will probably leave the state, possibly even the country!

I can imagine what you are thinking – she has lost her marbles this time – but hang in there a few more seconds and I will explain.

Our youngest son’s name is Paul. I love him dearly; more dearly than I feel he probably realizes.

Let me clarify something. Those of you who have children, and I use the plural purposely, will know what I am talking about when I wonder how you can have the same mother and the same father and produce a string of very different children. If we were breeding specialized flowers or food crops, we would be in trouble – we could end up with a field of salad plants when we planted lettuce. Hmmm, that may be quite useful really! OK, enough of that – I’ll leave that to the Frog.

Child training can be a hard road, one course that many of us don’t have any certificates to show before we start. On the job learning is often the name of the game. I always felt that consistency was an important “rule” and stick to your word – especially when you are “discussing” consequences!

So I tried to be consistent with rules with the children as they arrived, and grew.

One thing most parents dislike doing is chastising children when the family is out in public. If I felt there was an impending misdemeanour, I used to look hard at the offending child to “remind” them that I was seeing what was happening (I am told they used to advise each other that Mum was “giving them the look”) and most times the misbehaviour would cease. Then came Paul on the scene. Almost from the word go he feared no man nor beast. I could give you probably a hundred examples of when he refused to acknowledge “the look” causing me to discuss consequences personally with him. We both survived, however, and the strength he showed then has stood by him as he grew from a delightful young adult into a man.

BUT ... I have always said that if they name a cyclone Paul; I am out of here!

So blogger buddies, dust off the sofa bed, cause I could be knocking at your door anytime soon!

I will bring the remainder of that duty free alcohol, and Easter eggs!

My florist shop?

2010-02-19T09:58:00.000+09:30

I was at the Winter Olympics too ...

2010-02-18T15:58:00.005+09:30

... in 1980!

It's all in a name ...

A live raccoon named Rocky was originally chosen as the mascot for the 1980 Winter Games—but he died. So the Lake Placid organizing committee turned to graphic designer Donald Moss. A freelancer whose illustrations had appeared in Sports Illustrated, Moss studied at the Pratt Institute for Design after getting out of the Marines and later claimed to have created ABC’s logo. (“I never did get credit for that,” he told the New York Times in 1979.)

Moss and his son also designed the logo for the U.S. Ski Team and 11 stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. He agreed that a raccoon was a natural choice for a mascot for the Lake Placid Games. “The mask across its eyes makes it very similar to the mask and goggles and caps worn by Olympic skiers,” Moss said. “And of course the raccoon looks cuddly, a kind of message you want to impart.” Moss’s raccoon, Roni, was named after Lake Placid’s Adirondack Mountains.

Info from Mental Floss
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/47533

Every gambler knows that the secret to survivin' is knowin' what to throw away and knowin' what to keep

2010-01-29T21:53:00.005+09:30

For many years here the customer has been able to be wrong … it’s just the address that has changed slightly.

I must have been in this town longer than the journalist who wrote the following article, or he/she would have referred to times past. There was even an article in the very same newspaper within the last month; similar story but at least that customer mentioned that the food was good!

Before the site where the new multistory rises up from the street was prepared for the building which houses the restaurant Tramontana, there was a old Darwin house which housed the Mississippi Queen, a restaurant which was renowned for it’s good food and eccentric owner. He was not shy of chucking a fruity or, for that matter, a table full of plates if the customers did not meet his requirements. Locals knew the situation and the rules and behaved accordingly. You nearly always got a very good meal in quaint surroundings and sometime, an added floor, or table, show.

Legends were raised under the roof of the Mississippi Queen, and gained amplititude as stories were told and retold. What a pity, perhaps that was all before the time of YouTube. John Spellman was never a man afraid to make his view quite clear to anyone who happened by.

IT SEEMS Darwin has found its answer to Seinfeld's Soup Nazi. (link to news article)

The character in the hit '90s US sitcom was famous for the excessively strict regimentation he constantly demanded of his patrons.

And it seems John Spellman has adopted a similar "no soup for you" regime at his new Darwin restaurant.
A patron was less than impressed with their treatment on a recent visit to Spellman's Tramontana.
In a letter to the NT News the customer said the night was, "less than enjoyable but certainly memorable" then proceeded to detail the happenings.
Everything from having to share menus, slack service and "unbelievably rude" management was mentioned.
To add insult to injury, when the customer complained, the response was that it was "obviously not their type of restaurant". The manager then took a $10 note out of the register and told the customer to go "buy yourself a hamburger".
When ConfideNTial contacted Mr Spellman to hear his side of the debacle, he was surprisingly unapologetic. "They were very difficult customers to begin with," he said. "The party had originally booked for 30 people, and the night before confirmed only 16. That's $1000 lost in turnover - so, yes, I was cross to start with".
Throwing the old adage "the customer is always right" straight out the window, Mr Spellman said the group insisted on splitting the drinks bill and claimed they were charged for a champagne that was never received. The customer wrote a letter of complaint to Mr Spellman - he was going to reply, but "restrained himself".
"I have tamed my act," he said. "But I was tempted to send them a voucher for McDonalds, because that's where they should have been."
The unhappy patrons have vowed never to return.

I am saddened to advise them that they probably won’t be missed, and perhaps the old adage of “any advertising is good advertising” may work in this case and remind some of the old customers of the Mississippi Queen (who have been probably dining quietly for the last couple of years) that Spellman is back in business!

You have to know when to fold them

2010-01-28T23:44:00.004+09:30

Sometimes you have to rebel against bureaucracy and sometimes it is just better to keep your mouth shut and just THINK the rebellion. It’s knowing the difference that is sometimes my problem. Sometimes the smart alec, fly by the seat of the pants girl in me just escapes. That girl nearly always gets into trouble! Yes, I know that with age comes maturity, doesn’t it? Well, not always I am sad to advise. Sometimes it is just too much of an opportunity left open, or you just get too peeved by the other person and you have to let fly. That often results in what I call an oops moment.

I am reminded of the words of the song The Boxer by Kenny Rogers:
You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run

My friend Lulu reminded me of this today when I read her blog.

Several years ago I was at the Blood Bank going through the interview before donating blood.

Himself had been a blood donor for ever and I decided that I should join the club.

I had already filled in the four page form and had made it to the interview. The interviewer goes through each question, asking some further questions every now and then to clarify the situation. No problems. Then we get to the section regarding overseas travel. I understand the reasons for the questions and had answered them accurately. It was at this stage that the interviewer first made the comment that I travelled a lot. Yes, I enjoyed travelling and did so as often as was possible I told her. But you really travel a lot. Yes, and I have listed on the form all the details. But that is really a lot of travel. Well, not really, but we enjoy travel. At this stage my voice was getting a little terse. I was ready to move on from this question, get to the donating bit and get back to work (so I could afford to travel again perhaps?). But no, she had got stuck in the groove, like an old vinyl record or a scratched CD.

That seat of the pants girl was ready for a few words. Somehow that time I kept quiet; and didn’t tell her that I needed to do a few drug courier runs every now and then to keep my hand in!

I think that would have resulted in one of those cryptic codes in the margin that I imagine immigration staff put on the immigration and customs form (when you arrive in the country) that gives the heads up to the next person which row you need to be cleared through. And my career as a blood donor would be over, before it started, or at the very least, postponed!

Interviewers, I know form generators put little boxes on forms for people to tick or cross or whatever; but YOUR JOB is to read them, and think outside the square, not get boxed in it yourself.

By Jove ... I think I've got it!

2010-01-23T22:58:00.003+09:30

There has been so much time, money and frustration trying to work it out; but I think this is the best explanation.

Ahhh ... now where was I?

2010-01-03T21:56:00.003+09:30

Listening to the news, it would appear that there may be a few people who could use this lady's help.

Sad, but true.

Boxing Day holiday ... some results

2009-12-28T22:42:00.005+09:30

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

2009-12-26T05:32:00.001+09:30

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

2009-12-25T14:31:00.006+09:30

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

2009-12-24T11:26:00.000+09:30

What can I say?

Rain, beautiful rain

2009-12-13T21:47:00.007+09:30

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

2009-11-12T20:35:00.000+09:30

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

2009-11-09T22:52:00.003+09:30

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

2009-11-03T22:30:00.010+09:30

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?

2009-11-02T18:15:00.006+09:30

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

2009-10-29T23:07:00.005+09:30

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

2009-10-02T22:30:00.005+09:30

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

2009-09-26T22:36:00.004+09:30

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

2009-09-24T23:16:00.003+09:30

Some humour might help ...

swamp.com.au

It is nigh

2009-09-08T22:31:00.002+09:30

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 ...

2009-06-19T21:33:00.005+09:30

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

2009-04-27T21:05:00.008+09:30

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 ...

2009-04-12T17:53:00.005+09:30

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 …

2009-03-01T00:17:00.003+09:30

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

2009-02-15T19:19:00.011+09:30

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

2009-02-09T00:05:00.001+09:30

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

2009-02-08T15:49:00.013+09:30

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

2009-02-07T00:32:00.000+09:30

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

2009-01-30T23:11:00.004+09:30

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

2009-01-15T00:08:00.014+09:30

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?

2009-01-09T16:29:00.007+09:30

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!

Boxing Day or crazy mad shopping day

2008-12-26T21:54:00.003+09:30

by Chip Sansom

Naked in a shower

2008-12-16T11:02:00.013+09:30

Recently, I was talking about moulting trees. Now, the rains have arrived; whether it will be for a short visit or stay for awhile, we will have to wait and see. The weather boys and girls tell us that the monsoon is just off the coast. It has been raining, from heavy to drizzle, since Sunday, the frogs have been singing harmoniously and everything feels damp. But it is definitely cooler! Funny people that we are, we now run the airconditioning to prevent everything turning mouldy. Blue suede shoes are not back in fashion just yet!

From the Bureau of Meteorology this morning:

Issued at 5:00 am CST on Tuesday 16 December 2008

Current Weather Summary and Future Developments:
A monsoon trough lies just off the north coast with a tropical low located in the Timor Sea. The low and trough are expected to develop, with squally monsoonal showers and storms about the north and west coasts over the next few days. Widespread showers and storms elsewhere in the north. To the south, fine with a dry southeast flow, tending warmer northerly with storms extending down the western border from mid-week ahead of a trough approaching from the west.

Meanwhile, back to those trees. It would appear that they love the rain cooling their new skin. This is the eucalyptus alba (salmon gum) which has finished moulting.

To the right, see the flowers of the melaleuca (paperback or ti tree) which is also showing the appreciation of the rain. If the rain continues for a period of time, its combination with high tides, will see the tidal creek (behind the trees) right up to the path.

In the next photo, you can also see a cycad looking appreciative of the rain.

Sweet and Deadly for the Waistline … how to let sugar kill you sweetly but surely

2008-12-12T18:56:00.012+09:30

“If the definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing and expect a different outcome, then as a society we are not only getting fatter but crazier.

Governments spend a fortune on programs that tell people to eat less fatty food and exercise more in order to lose weight, while consumers fork out ever-increasing amounts on gym memberships, packaged meals, books, magazines and the advice of experts. Despite decades of this kind of activity we are now fatter than at any other time in history. ”
David Gillespie from the Weekend Australian 29-30 November 2008. *

For a long time I have noticed the wrappers from the lollies that fill up the lolly jar in the office are big on advertizing 98% fat free. Yeah, maybe, but how much sugar is there in there? 100% or more if they could put it in there!

But fat free has been the big sell catchcry for a long time.

98% fat free seems to be a well used one, it must hit the ears best.

Less fat, low fat, no fat; but we are still fat!

David Gillespie is not the first person to write about the sugar kill, and he probably won’t be the last; but it is worth looking at and thinking about.

Read the labels next time you are tempted to grab that processed product off the shelf in the supermarket, or better still, read the labels on the ones in the pantry and fridge. And then take a moment to wonder why that product has sugar in it. Then have a look at the other ones beside it; maybe one of them doesn’t have sugar, and it might even taste better too. Yes, it will take a while to change your brain, but your body will definitely thank you for it.

Luckily I had returned to a doctor, whom I had known for a long while, for a diagnosis of what was wrong with me; he was smack in the moosh blunt to me, and put things pretty clearly early enough - fix it now!

You could go cold turkey. Interesting experience. I did it, and it was a shock to me to experience the headaches as the body screamed out for the sugar hit for about five days. I told no-one else about the headaches for a long time. I didn’t want to admit that I was a sugar addict. A warning … if you do it too slowly you are going to have to be really tough with yourself and make sure the sugar intake is really moving down, not down and up.

I could list a lot of brands that that I use now that actually taste like the real thing, without the sugar; and there are other books out there that do it too, but you can just read the labels and do a bit of thinking.

You will probably have to do a bit of cooking too. Those fresh vegies and fruit are quite good too if they aren’t too much added to. Peel and slice apples or pears and cook them (without sugar), maybe like grandma used to, and you’ll be amazed that they taste good, you know, really like apples or pears! You don't have to become a hermit, just a thinking person again, rather than a retail controlled robot. Put yourself in charge.

Give it a go; cut the sugar, eat reasonable amounts of good food and your body will thank you.

* David Gillespie is the author of Sweet Poison: Why Sugar Makes us Fat (Penguin)

Read the whole article here:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24717513-23289,00.html

Moulting Trees

2008-12-05T22:48:00.016+09:30

As I have said a few times lately, it is rather tropical here at the moment (that’s how the locals sarcastically describe damn hot, at this time of the year, when speaking to a tourist!)

We all know that cats moult, usually all over the best chair in the place, and dogs moult as the weather warms up, but trees?

I looked up a definition:
Moulting noun
periodic shedding of the cuticle in arthropods or the outer skin in reptiles.
(Dictionary.com)

Hmmm … I am not sure which category a tree would fit into, but I am still sure that they are moulting.

I have searched further, and lo and behold, cuticle is the connection to the plant kingdom …
Cuticle noun
Botany. a very thin hyaline film covering the surface of plants, derived from the outer surfaces of the epidermal cells.

I knew it! I have been watching them, and they are definitely moulting; you can even see the pile of skin on the ground below them!

I guess they too will feel cooler when the rains come.

The storms, they are a’brewing

2008-12-04T00:05:00.010+09:30

About three weeks ago, I posted about our pre-monsoon storm season.

http://veronicas-secrets.blogspot.com/2008/11/gunumeleng-next-season-in-year.html

This afternoon, I was out and about in the car and couldn’t resist taking some photos of the afternoon cumulonimbus storm cloud build up.

We have had some storms, which have been a pleasant, if short lived, break from the very humid and hot conditions we have been experiencing since the beginning of November. As I sit here writing, at just before midnight, the thermometer still sits on 29.6˚C, and I won’t tell you the humidity. All I can say is thank God for airconditioning! However, we haven’t had a lot of rain and the personalities are still strained. This doesn’t help as we move towards Christmas, with its added hustle and bustle as people plan their Christmas activities. For some, it will be a break away to join family in slightly cooler climes, or a holiday break in one of our neighbouring Asian countries.

Enjoy the cloud photos; hopefully, soon they will deliver some cooling rain.

Sunday Sails

2008-11-23T13:52:00.008+09:30

The tide is not as far out today, and wind power has taken over from motor (well, that wasn’t much use last weekend anyway!).

Perhaps not free to fly like Tuesday’s pee wee (incidentally, his technique is slowly improving); but once you have spent a small fortune on kite, board, stinger suit and UV cream, it is about as free as it gets. The breeze is here today and the kite surfers are out there making the best of it.

Last night was hot – minimum 29.6°C and very humid - so the breeze and water in your face could appear cooling I guess.

Birds on the Wing …Oh to be free to fly

2008-11-18T22:59:00.002+09:30

This afternoon when I returned home there was a very noisy pee wee (Magpie-lark - Grallina cyanoleuca) sitting in the back windscreen washer of our car having a lot to say about the state of the universe.

Usually, when a bird does that, it is trying to distract you from a mate sitting on eggs or its own youngster nearby. I stopped and it didn’t take too long to see that there was a reasonably young bird hopping along on the ground nearby. Kids these days; they think they are big enough to fly the coop far before they can!

I kept an eye on him for a while and soon, with a certain amount of encouragement from mother, he had managed to “fly” up to a low branch in a hibiscus. I felt better about that, as several of the neighbours have cats, and if he had still been on the ground come nightfall, he would have probably been in a fairly precarious position.

Mum seemed quite a bit happier about the situation also, and decided it was time to organise dinner. His flying skills weren’t very well honed as yet and a lot of wing flapping took place before he attempted take off. Level flying wasn’t a lot better, actually it didn’t exist. There may have even been some other type of CAT (clear air turbulence) problem! However, he managed, over a period of time to flutter and scratch his way higher up the tree, until he made it to a palm leaf of reasonable height and protection, when he rested.

Even though it was almost dark, I was able to get a photo of him practising his take offs, with claws still firmly attached to the branch.

Gunumeleng - The pre-monsoon storm season

2008-11-15T22:29:00.014+09:30

Gunumeleng, the next season in the year, according to the aboriginal people from the Kakadu area, can last from mid-October to late December, and may, in fact, last from a few weeks to several months. It is the pre-monsoon season of hot weather that becomes more and more humid. Thunderstorms build in the afternoons and scattered showers bring a tinge of green to the dry land. As the streams begin to run, acidic water that washes from the floodplains can cause fish to die in billabongs with low oxygen levels. Waterbirds spread out as surface water and new growth become more widespread. Barramundi move from the waterholes downstream to the estuaries to breed.

We are still waiting for the rains. We definitely have the heat and humidity and a lot less breeze in the early evening than we had in October.

http://veronicas-secrets.blogspot.com/2008/09/colours-in-dry-tropics.html

The trees, however, seem to get the message when it is their time to shine, almost as if they can feel the rains coming.

The umbrella tree (Schefflera actinophylla) is native to northern Queensland, north of the tropic of Capricorn. In the close up of the flower there is a brightly coloured rainbow lorikeet, feasting on the nectar.

The red poinciana (Delonix regia) is an old favourite in Darwin, and some would try to call it a weed, but at this time of the year it can put on a spectacular display. As the flowers fall there is a red carpet beneath it.

The orange poinciana is relatively rare, with a few specimins in Darwin which are equally colourful.

In the picture with the “grounded buoy” you will see the following: to the left of the buoy, a yellow/orange bougainvillea, then moving to the right, a large red poinciana, a pinkish/orange bougainvillea, a purple bougainvillea intertwined with an orange poinciana. If you look at the ground below you will notice that none of the plants are getting very much TLC, and they are still putting on quite a good performance, with very little rain.

The day the tide went out ... and out

2008-11-15T15:12:00.016+09:30

We have large tidal ranges here in Darwin. The range can be around eight metres. This situation can result in catching people out. Cars regularly go swimming; usually when they have become bogged when loading or unloading a boat from a trailer.

Tide Times for Saturday 15 November 2008
Low 12.48 am 2.41m

High 6.15 am 6.92m

Low 1.10 pm 0.13m

High 7.49 pm 7.75m

Today, almost on low tide, I noticed a boat sitting high and dry, about halfway out on one of our local beaches.

I am still not sure if they ran out of fuel, or simply, got caught by the tide. By the time I parked and found the camera, the occupants had decided to abandon ship and walk (slurp, slurp) across the mudflats. Not an appealing activity, especially when it is as hot and humid as hades in the middle of the day. Most people seek the shade, with a cool drink in hand, at that time of the day; that is if they can’t hide in airconditioning – a bit difficult if you have decided to go for a run in the * tinny, I suppose.

I may have to go back before sunset and see what progress has been made with the tour.

* local lingo for metal runabout boat, usually with an outboard engine – now you know exactly what I mean don’t you?

The following photos tell some of the story. (Usual deal, click on photo to enlarge)

Abandon ship!

Swamp Draining Interrupted

2008-11-14T23:04:00.009+09:30

" When you’re up to your backside in crocodiles, it’s difficult to remember that the object of the exercise is to drain the swamp."

Happy, fulfilled, stretched but supported people generally achieve the most at work and get the most from life. They drain a lot of swamps – and have a pretty good time doing it (strange though it may seem, for some of us, swamp drainage is a Very Enjoyable Occupation).

However, many of us face a few crocodiles … those subversive or even submersive, obstacles that get in the way of a productive, high achieving but low-stress kind of life.

Some of them we make ourselves, some of them are placed there by other people.

Some of them just are.

Sometimes there are seemingly pretty fish in the swamp, to lull us into a false sense of security. They can turn out to be just that; seemingly pretty fish, but really piranha in goldfish clothing, and even the crocodile should perhaps watch out.

Copyright 2008 Swamp Productions Pty Ltd

No, it hasn't been a good day!

Tord – Good Memories of a Friend

2008-11-03T00:05:00.003+09:30

Three years ago we lost a friend. It felt too hard, at the time, to think of good memories. But, time heals and the memories come.

· The ever present cameras, a snap here, a video there …
· The disappearing walker … to have a few moments alone with nature – but scaring the heck out of those with him, especially when there are big crocodiles nearby!
· Reading the brochures thoroughly and asking questions that you are supposed to be able to answer, but you haven’t read those brochures yet
· A real environmentalist

And most of all, a very good friend. We remember you. Here’s to you mate. Skål!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The only good thing to come out of Tennant Creek is the Stuart Highway – I think Harmony James has changed that theory…

2008-11-02T15:08:00.008+09:30

… I am sad to say that the Territory is losing a rising star, as Harmony James moves onwards to Brisbane to further her careers.

Last night, she performed at the Darwin Entertainment Centre in the Studio Theatre, which was set up cabaret style for her performance. She was backed by well known Darwin performers Mike Foley, on bass and Mark Smith on drums. I think that she enjoyed the experience and I can happily say that I feel that the audience did also.

So, maybe when she is a big star in the big smoke she will remember a smallish gig in Darwin.

Picture © Harmony James

She sang songs from her EP Harmony, as well as some old ones – You’re No Good (from way back in 1964, I think and recorded by names such as Linda Ronstadt and Reba McEntire); and a good version of Cootamundra Wattle (John Williamson), a hauntingly, sad song with some good advice for all of us. This was interspersed with songs she is planning to add to her new album, which should be released in about five months.

There was a particularly impressive song, perhaps called Some People Give (not sure of the name); the words are well thought out and the music and composition are well done. The song came from a blunt reminder that things aren’t always what they appear on the surface.

There was also a reference to Greek mythology (Icarus) with a song about flying too close to the sun. We all do a bit of that at times, I think, and feel a little singed! Or maybe it just feels like that, in Darwin in November!

To listen to Harmony; click below and check out the video clip. And listen out for her new album.

http://www.harmonyjames.com/lyrics3.htm

Her last song was So Long, Wish Me Goodbye; hopefully it will only be Adieu. Good luck Harmony, with the next step in the adventure; and don’t forget your followers in Darwin, because we won’t forget your voice.

Three Decades of Memories

2008-10-23T22:48:00.000+09:30

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hill Street Blues, Greens, Yellows and Reds

2008-10-21T23:23:00.010+09:30

One of my long time favourite Singapore bulldings, the Old Hill Street Police Station Building was designed by F. Dorrington Ward, the Government Architect attached to the Public Works Department. It was built in the Neo-Classical style fashionable for public buildings in the 1930s, started in 1931 and officially opened in 1934. At the time it was constructed, the six-storey building was the largest building in Singapore up to that time, and because of it's height, was regarded as a skyscraper.

Today the building is occupied by the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts (MICA). The main courtyard, formerly the police parade ground, has been converted into an airconditioned atrium, called the ARTrium, for art activities. The spacious area, with its vibrant colours and ample space, regularly features artistic performances and houses art galleries … but more about that later.

If you look at the left, in the background of the picture, you will see a dot on the side of the tallest building. Now take a closer look at the same building.

Old and the new - Elgin Bridge Singapore

2008-10-20T23:38:00.007+09:30

This was the bridge where Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles once stood and decided which areas were to be set aside for Chinese commerce, Malay-Arabic settlements and the colonial seat. It was originally a wooden structure, replaced by an iron one and then, in 1926 replaced again.

It is named after Lord Elgin, a governor general of India.

Behind is the high rise of the commercial district.

Looking down on reality

2008-09-27T23:14:00.000+09:30

Rooftops in Singapore

Smoko break

2008-09-22T23:40:00.001+09:30

Cloisters of past power

2008-09-21T15:14:00.001+09:30

Chijmes - Singapore

Built in the gothic style, with buildings in the complex built as early as 1840, Chijmes was formerly one of the last cloistered convents in the world.

If those walls could speak.

A slow boat to Chinatown?

2008-09-20T15:02:00.001+09:30

...on the Singapore River for the River Festival.

Progress

2008-09-18T00:09:00.005+09:30

A bare wall in May now has decoration. There is also a picture of what will eventually be hiding the bare wall.

Colours in the dry tropics

2008-09-02T21:17:00.020+09:30

At this time of the year, as the dry season draws to a hot finish, the colours we mainly see around are the dry browns and even the burnt out blacks. Some of our plants, however, try valiantly to show some colour to the remaining visitors and locals, as they struggle towards the “green season” when the wet arrives.

The aboriginal people from the Kakadu area call this time of the year Gurrung, and consider that it is from mid-August to mid-October, and is hot and dry. It is still 'goose time' but also time for Bininj/Mungguy (the name of the people) to hunt file snakes and long-necked turtles. Sea turtles lay their eggs on the sandy beaches of Field Island and West Alligator Head and goannas rob their nests sometimes. White-breasted wood swallows arrive as thunderclouds build, signalling the return of Gunumeleng - the pre-monsoon season of hot weather that becomes more and more humid.
From: Department of the Environment and Water Resources website.

I have looked around for some colour, and following are a few photos to show some of the variations.

Even the palms try white with the brown.

Red seeds of the Carpentaria palm are offset by the white Torres Strait Pigeons feasting

Fire by the sea - a pandanus suffers

One defiant plant survives the burn

A bright yellow native tree as a street planting

and a bright orange vine on a fence adds some colour

Even pastels - pink and white frangipani

For you, Paul

2008-07-18T00:05:00.000+09:30

Make a Smilebox photobook

Pope Benedict XVI in Oz for World Youth Day

2008-07-17T23:43:00.004+09:30

Pope Benedict XVI arrived last night in the centre of Sydney ahead of World Youth Day.

What was on the menu for breakfast this morning at St Mary's Cathedral House, Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell's official residence?

Yep, you guessed it … Eggs Benedict.

Songbird soars higher (after a little help from the Rocket Man)

2008-07-05T22:24:00.009+09:30

Territory singing sensation Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is going from strength to strength with his two shows selling out at the Opera House in Sydney.

Yunupingu and his band are playing the studio theatre at the famed venue next Friday 11 and Saturday 12 July, but plenty of Sydneysiders will be disappointed when they learn they are too late for the 400 tickets to each show. Yunupingu may return to the Opera House for another show later in the year. His Opera House shows are part of the Message Sticks indigenous culture festival.

The 37-year-old Yunupingu was named male artist of the year at the 2007 NT Indigenous Music awards, he has performed for the Queen, supported Elton John at his recent Darwin show and will play for the Pope at World Youth Day celebrations on 17 July. A pretty diverse group of audiences, you may quite correctly think! Intensely shy and blind from birth, Gurrumul, a former member of Yothu Yindi, is an old hat at the star-turn, has toured the world as well as playing for the Queen. However, constant touring tired him and he likes living on Elcho Island, his birthplace, 500 km east of Darwin.

Elton John’s interest and support of new and eclectic artists is legendary. Before the Rocket Man performed on May 17 in Darwin, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, also called Gudjuk, performed songs from his Gumatj country, one of the First Nations of North East Arnhemland, and mostly in his Yolngu tongue.

The Elcho Island singer-songwriter has drawn critical and popular acclaim for his first solo album, Gurrumul, released in February this year. It is already a rare phenomenon, breaking into the mainstream; it knocked the John Butler Trio out of the number one spot on iTunes Roots music chart and hit number five on the mainstream iTunes chart in early April. Hailed by the Sydney Morning Herald as “the greatest voice this continent has ever recorded”, Gudjuk sings with the voice of an angel of his love of country, being born blind, the death of his father and creation stories of his Yolngu people … calling Gudjuk’s voice “a gift from the gods”. His music has no political agenda; he just wants to tell stories.

We were able to attend a performance by Gurrumul and his band, for the closing of the North Australia Forum at the end of June, at the new Convention Centre auditorium in Darwin; and were once again mesmerized by his voice. It absolutely filled the auditorium with a hauntingly beautiful sound that you could almost reach out and touch.

To listen to his music click below.

http://www.myspace.com/gurrumul

Not a Bush Christening

2008-06-25T23:59:00.006+09:30

On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few,
And men of religion are scanty,
On a road never cross'd 'cept by folk that are lost,
One Michael Magee had a shanty.

Now this Mike was the dad of a ten-year-old lad,
Plump, healthy, and stoutly conditioned;
He was strong as the best, but poor Mike had no rest
For the youngster had never been christened,

And his wife used to cry, "If the darlin' should die
Saint Peter would not recognise him."
But by luck he survived till a preacher arrived,
Who agreed straightaway to baptise him.

Now the artful young rogue, while they held their collogue,
With his ear to the keyhole was listenin',
And he muttered in fright while his features turned white,
"What the divil and all is this christenin'?"

He was none of your dolts, he had seen them brand colts,
And it seemed to his small understanding,
If the man in the frock made him one of the flock,
It must mean something very like branding.

So away with a rush he set off for the bush,
While the tears in his eyelids they glistened-
"'Tis outrageous," says he, "to brand youngsters like me,
I'll be dashed if I'll stop to be christened!"

Like a young native dog he ran into a log,
And his father with language uncivil,
Never heeding the "praste" cried aloud in his haste,
"Come out and be christened, you divil!"

But he lay there as snug as a bug in a rug,
And his parents in vain might reprove him,
Till his reverence spoke (he was fond of a joke)
"I've a notion," says he, "that'll move him."

"Poke a stick up the log, give the spalpeen a prog;
Poke him aisy-don't hurt him or maim him,
'Tis not long that he'll stand, I've the water at hand,
As he rushes out this end I'll name him.

"Here he comes, and for shame! ye've forgotten the name-
Is it Patsy or Michael or Dinnis?"
Here the youngster ran out, and the priest gave a shout-
"Take your chance, anyhow, wid 'Maginnis'!"

As the howling young cub ran away to the scrub
Where he knew that pursuit would be risky,
The priest, as he fled, flung a flask at his head
That was labelled "Maginnis's Whisky!"

And Maginnis Magee has been made a J.P.,
And the one thing he hates more than sin is
To be asked by the folk who have heard of the joke,
How he came to be christened "Maginnis"!
A B Banjo Paterson

From The Bulletin, 16 December 1893.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Looking at the books for the year

2008-06-18T21:32:00.005+09:30

Well, the scrutiny of Estimates by Parliament is over and we have survived … well, sort of … because we now have to do the work we weren’t doing while we were preparing for estimates.

But, whoever said Parliament was boring, hasn’t read Hansard.

And I quote:

"Mr MILLS: Treasurer, has the department been the subject of any form of criminal damage?

Ms PRINCE: I am not sure what you mean by criminal damage?

Mr MILLS: By criminal damage, I mean graffiti, windows broken.

Ms PRINCE: Not that I am aware of.

Mr MILLS: Theft?

Ms PRINCE: I know the Tattslotto fund was taken from Treasury pool about a month ago, which was about $30. I am not aware of any other."

But perhaps the most of it can be roughly summed up with an international cartoon. Perhaps in the global village many things change, but many others stay the same.

Blogging - the self help psychiatrist?

2008-05-27T22:59:00.007+09:30

Taken from Scientific American Magazine - May 22, 2008 ... and definitely worth a read.

Blogging--It's Good for You - The therapeutic value of blogging becomes a focus of study
By Jessica Wapner

Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a “placebo for getting satisfied,” Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.

Flaherty, who studies conditions such as hypergraphia (an uncontrollable urge to write) and writer’s block, also looks to disease models to explain the drive behind this mode of communication. For example, people with mania often talk too much. “We believe something in the brain’s limbic system is boosting their desire to communicate,” Flaherty explains. Located mainly in the midbrain, the limbic system controls our drives, whether they are related to food, sex, appetite, or problem solving. “You know that drives are involved [in blogging] because a lot of people do it compulsively,” Flaherty notes. Also, blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to stimulants like music, running and looking at art.

The frontal and temporal lobes, which govern speech—no dedicated writing center is hardwired in the brain—may also figure in. For example, lesions in Wernicke’s area, located in the left temporal lobe, result in excessive speech and loss of language comprehension. People with Wernicke’s aphasia speak in gibberish and often write constantly. In light of these traits, Flaherty speculates that some activity in this area could foster the urge to blog.

Scientists’ understanding about the neurobiology underlying therapeutic writing must remain speculative for now. Attempts to image the brain before and after writing have yielded minimal information because the active regions are located so deep inside. Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown that the brain lights up differently before, during and after writing, notes James Pennebaker, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin. But Pennebaker and others remain skeptical about the value of such images because they are hard to duplicate and quantify.

Most likely, writing activates a cluster of neurological pathways, and several researchers are committed to uncovering them. At the University of Arizona, psychologist and neuroscientist Richard Lane hopes to make brain-imaging techniques more relevant by using those techniques to study the neuroanatomy of emotions and their expressions. Nancy Morgan, lead author of the Oncologist study, is looking to conduct larger community-based and clinical trials of expressive writing. And Pennebaker is continuing to investigate the link between expressive writing and biological changes, such as improved sleep, that are integral to health. “I think the sleep angle is one of the more promising ones,” he says.

Whatever the underlying causes may be, people coping with cancer diagnoses and other serious conditions are increasingly seeking—and finding—solace in the blogosphere. “Blogging undoubtedly affords similar benefits” to expressive writing, says Morgan, who wants to incorporate writing programs into supportive care for cancer patients.

Some hospitals have started hosting patient-authored blogs on their Web sites as clinicians begin to recognize the therapeutic value. Unlike a bedside journal, blogging offers the added benefit of receptive readers in similar situations, Morgan explains: “Individuals are connecting to one another and witnessing each other’s expressions—the basis for forming a community.”

This article was originally printed with the title, "The Healthy Type". Extracted from Scientific American May 2008 - full article at http://www.sciam.com/

Runaway avoids return

2008-05-24T16:18:00.007+09:30

I have heard that some runaways will do almost anything to avoid being returned to their family.

The reason behind this emotion is perhaps hard to understand for many people who enjoy the “normal life.”

Runaways represent a unique population among adolescents; whether this is a cause or a consequence of running away is unknown. Studies have shown that runaways are less adjusted than their non-runaway peers, have lower achievement levels, are more frequently depressed, have poor family relations, and engage in more delinquent activities (Rohr 1996).

Other researchers have suggested that runaways are sociopaths—that is, they refuse to commit to or believe in the traditional values and norms of the society within which they live. In addition, runaways have been portrayed as impulsive loners who are prone to excessive aggression when frustrated. They can also be passive-aggressive and possess several different personality disorders.

Because the act of running away frequently involves feelings of intense alienation between them and their families, these children are, many times, quite exploitative and manipulative of other people. They do not trust others, thus they do not feel any obligation to treat others with respect. For this reason, many social programs designed to administer to this population focus on the provision of psychiatric care and counseling.

Is there a help group for this runaway? Is this why the ones you see at the shopping centres are either young or appear to have aged early, rather than gracefully - is that the result of them spending so much time living on the streets.

Manipulative? Yes, it would appear to be the case with this one. What technique was used to get assistance to get this one where it was.

Hmmm.

Songbird in the city

2008-02-28T23:20:00.003+09:30

Tonight I heard a songbird sing.

Definitely not the tune of a jungle fowl, which he did sing about, and we hear in the suburbs here quite often; but the voice of a very talented young man with a most beautiful voice singing songs of his country and of his land. Songs with words of colour, images of sunsets and sounds of the wind which totally belie the fact that this young man has been blind from birth. Hauntingly, beautiful music, the spirit of which will stay with you long after the music has stopped. His name – Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, is from the Gumatj nation, his mother from the Galpu nation; and his new solo album is called Gurrumul, which presents songs of his people, culture and land sung in his angelic voice, with elegant backing of guitars and double bass. His solo performances are a rare treat and if you are given the opportunity, should not be missed. You don't need to close your eyes and listen to him sing; but if you do, you will be taken on a journey, far away from where you were.

A former member of Yothu Yindi, his own band, The Saltwater Band, hail from Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island, NE Arnhem Land, and are a much loved and most popularly noted Indigenous band, partly because of Gurrumul’s influence and guidance. But this is not Yothu Yindi!

Long-time friend and co-member of the Saltwater Band Michael Hohnen said that Geoffrey’s talent as a solo artist was recognized about 10 years ago. "We played together just with double bass and guitar one day and it sounded fantastic. Gurrumul got really excited about the sound and so we started testing the water doing a couple of live shows supporting other people and we just got an enormous reaction from his family and from people saying 'you’ve got to do more.'"

The album was recorded in Melbourne and was mixed and mastered in Darwin and showcases Gurrumul’s unique way of playing the guitar. "He plays the guitar upside down – so it’s a normal tuned guitar but he plays it backwards. This came about because there weren’t left-handed guitars on communities."

With the release of this, his first solo album, Geoffrey highlights the tremendous talent he has to offer Indigenous music in Australia, and indeed, the world. I think it is one of the most important and beautiful Indigenous albums ever recorded.

Go to the link below and listen to his sound.

http://www.myspace.com/gurrumul

Life on the north shore hasn't changed

2008-02-24T22:28:00.004+09:30

IT began as a sordid tale of steamy and illicit underage sex in a leafy North Shore suburb of Sydney.

But yesterday it sounded like a typical encounter in the affluent but ageing suburb of Mosman - just another lustful romp among consenting adults with lots of wrinkled grey skin.

Thong Dee is the first elephant to fall pregnant in Australia.

But just how old the Taronga Zoo attraction really is remained mired in controversy yesterday amid claims she could be as young as six - or as old as 12. The elephant was registered in Thailand as having been born in 2001 but its original owners claimed she is actually 12 years old and that her age was "roughly estimated" at the time of registration.

Anti-zoo activists, including the NSW Greens, have denounced the zoo's breeding program, claiming Thong Dee is too young to fall pregnant and that elephants should not be bred until at least the recommended age of 11 or 12.

Rampant sex. Wrinkled skin. Manipulative women and would-be dominant males. Life goes on in Mosman as normal.

(From News.com.au)

A day at the Office

2008-01-31T23:32:00.000+09:30

Learning the latest office lingo

If you're about to lob a few thought grenades across the office, be careful they don't blow up in your face. A session of blamestorming could follow. It might sound like gobbledegook, but these are the latest lines in workplace lingo.

A "thought grenade'' is an explosively good idea. This phrase became fashionable among office staff last year, as did the expression "let's sunset that'', which is used to refer to bad ideas that must never be mentioned again. Every worker knows the pain of recriminations the day after a project has gone wrong. Now it has a name - "blamestorming". It means debating why a deadline was missed and who was responsible.

Blamestorming is predicted to be one of the buzzwords of 2008, as is "boss-spasming'', which describes those moments of suddenly looking busy as the boss walks past. The phrases are included in a collection compiled by British recruitment firm Office Angels.

Some phrases are tricky. Daydreaming has been transformed into a far more complex activity: "workspacespecific perceptual abstraction". Lunch with a colleague sounds more important as an "inter-departmental liaison facilitation''.

But David Clubb, managing director of Office Angels, said phrases such as these may become globally popular but probably won't last. "While trendy jargon may be used as a short-cut, clear, simple communication will never go out of fashion,'' Mr Clubb said. Umm I wonder.

Then there is the “office etiquette” situation...

Impersonal emails, bitching about workmates, poor phone manners and dressing inappropriately are some of the sins we commit every day in the office. And Gen Y workers are the worst offenders according to two of Australia’s leading business etiquette experts, June Dally-Watkins, who runs the Business Finishing College in Sydney, and Tracey Hodgkins of the Australian Experiential Learning Centre in Perth. “A lot of people have no idea about good manners and correct behaviour in the workplace because no one has taught them,” Ms Dally-Watkins, 80, said.

“They’re brought up watching bad things on television every night, or on the internet and on music videos. I think this is why the behaviour of people is degenerating.” Ms Hodgkins said most of the students in her office etiquette course were Gen-Yers just starting out in the workplace, and many were enrolled by their new employers. "In universities they’re not taught about basic, everyday stuff. And it seems to be a big issue in a lot of workplaces. Not knowing correct workplace etiquette has always been an issue with young workers", she said, but Gen-Y are more vocal about it. "Gen-Y tend to speak their mind, whereas the baby boomers were happy to put up and shut up."

Send me an email ...

One of the worst office habits today was sending impersonal emails containing a cold request or comment, Ms Dally-Watkins said. She believes pleasantries such as “hello” and “thank you” should not be forgotten in messages. “On email be kind and considerate to the other person. Remember they’re a human being. That’s what we’re losing with technology these days. Everyone’s treated like a robot.” Ms Hodgkins said Gen-Y tended to abbreviate words in emails, "which doesn’t really go down well with people from any other generation". And email jokes are not appropriate in any shape or form, she said. "It sets you up as the person who is the joker rather than the person who is the expert. It’s not good for your career." She also advised workers to be careful what they say in emails because they can be kept on record for a long time. "And avoid using office email for personal use, because your employer can access them."

Face to face...

In today's workplace many people (particularly Gen-Y, according to Ms Hodgkins) are more likely to communicate with someone two desks away by email rather than get up from their desk and give the message in person. It's a trend Ms Hodgkins doesn’t like. "There’s no replacement for face-to-face interaction," she said. "Plus I think sitting at a desk all day is bad for you. Why not get up, have a stretch, walk a few metres to speak to someone rather than do it all by email." And when chatting to someone in person, don't lean in too close. Ms Hodgkins said personal space was an issue of concern regularly raised in her workplace etiquette seminars. "Some people are just not comfortable speaking too closely to someone," she said.

Meet and greet...

One of Ms Dally-Watkins' pet hates around the office was the overuse of “how are you?” as a greeting. “I don’t like the ‘how are you’. I think it’s false and a waste of time. People don't mean it, it’s so empty. I’m going to try to stop it if I can,” she said. It’s much nicer to say, "so nice to see you" or "welcome", Ms Dally-Watkins said. When shaking someone's hand look them in the eye and make sure your grip is firm. And when introducing people always mention the older person's name first, she said.

The walk-by...

When workers walk around the office to go to the bathroom or kitchen, should they always greet the people they pass? Ms Hodgkins says it's polite to do so, adding that office hallways are a great way to socialise and also have informal meetings. "They’re designing workplaces now so people have to bump into each other," she said.

Dress for the occassion...

It’s vital to dress appropriately in the workplace, Ms Dally-Watkins said, and women should be careful not to be too revealing. “I think plunging necklines for a woman is a terrible way to attract attention at work," she said. "I believe it’s our face, our eyes, our expression and our personality that counts more. If we can only get attention by wearing tacky clothes, how sad.” She tells students to forget about just getting a diploma, because they have to look employable as well. “Who wants to pay good money to someone who looks yucky and doesn’t present a good image for their company? You want them to be clever, have the appropriate education and look all that your company stands for," she said.

On the phone...

The correct way to answer an office phone is, "Hello, (insert name here) speaking." If you happen to work near a loud phone talker and find them disruptive, be direct and politely tell them it is preventing you from doing your work, Ms Hodgkins said. Speaking on the mobile phone in the office was fine, so long as it doesn’t disturb your neighbours. And how many times have some of those "interesting" ringtones, that are funny the first time they ring loudly, had you ready to comit phonacide by the end of the day? But never SMS anyone over a work-related matter, Ms Hodgkins said, as it's unprofessional.

Online @ work...

Policies on personal internet use differ from office to office. The general rule, thowever, is to do it in moderation. Bosses shouldn't be too worried about Gen-Y spending a lot of time online because they are very good at multi-tasking with the net, Ms Hodgkins said. "They could have a chat-site open to talk to their friends while they’re doing their work – quite effectively, I might add. That’s the way they’ve been training their brain to work for the last 10 years," she said.

Rudeness...

When it comes to those annoying or rude co-workers who get on your nerves, be polite, Ms Dally-Watkins said. “I don’t think anyone has the right to tell someone they’re behaving badly to their face. It would be bad manners to point out their bad manners," she said. Ms Hodgkins agreed. "There’s an awful lot of bitching that takes place in the workplace and I don’t think there’s any excuse for it. "I’d advise anyone who doesn’t like someone else to just be polite. You don’t have to like everyone you work with; if you do then that's an absolute bonus. You’re there to do a job and you’re obligated to work as effectively with them as you can."

And the key to workplace etiquette?

The key to office etiquette is to communicate to staff what the local etiquette is. If people don’t know the culture and the rules everyone will go about things differently, all doing their own thing and annoying each other in the process. Result? Not a very effective workplace. So manners maketh the office worker too? Hopefully!

Cyclone warning issued for Queensland as the Northern Territory mops up

2008-01-06T23:44:00.000+09:30

Cyclone warning issued for north QLD
January 06, 2008 01:19pm Article from: AAP

COASTAL and island communities in Queensland's far north were battening down for a possible cyclone today.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said an intense tropical low, the remains of ex-tropical Cyclone Helen, was late this morning about 300km west of Weipa, on the western side of Cape York Peninsula. A cyclone warning has been issued for coastal and island communities from the Northern Territory-Queensland border to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. The system was moving east at 43km/h and was expected to reintensify into a tropical cyclone by 9pm AEST (2200 AEDT). The bureau said Helen posed an immediate threat to coastal and island communities from Thursday Island in the north to Kowanyama in the south. It was packing wind gusts of up to 90km/h and was expected to cross the coast between Weipa and Kowanyama. Residents of the area were advised to take precautions and listen to their radios for the next advice at 2pm.

Northern Territory mops up after wild weather
January 06, 2008 01:52pm Article from: AAP

RESIDENTS on the outskirts of the Northern Territory town of Katherine are being warned of likely flooding as the territory mops up after a weekend of wild weather.
Ex-tropical cyclone Helen caused widespread damage, flooding and blackouts south of Darwin on Friday, with flooding still threatening low-lying areas on the outskirts of Katherine. The Nitmiluk rain gauging station on the Katherine River had reached 4.5 metres indicating likely road closures due to flooding in semi-rural areas, the Northern Territory police, fire and emergency services said today. They advised flooding was probable on the Gorge Road at Maud Creek crossing and Bullock Creek crossing near Morris Road within the next 12 hours. "People who are in a threatened area are advised to take action now, and make necessary arrangements to ensure their personal safety and protection of property," Katherine Counter Disaster Committee control commander Greg Dowd said in a statement. He said if residents chose to evacuate, they should take an emergency kit containing essential medicines, infant or baby necessities, changes of clothing, blankets, a torch and valuable personal papers. A spokeswoman for the emergency services said the situation around Katherine was being constantly monitored, but there was no immediate threat of flooding within the town of Katherine. "The committee will keep monitoring the situation and advise as the situation changes," she said.

Has Helen really moved on?

2008-01-06T14:50:00.000+09:30

From the NT News:
"06Jan08
EX-TROPICAL Cyclone Helen is likely to re-form as a cyclone by noon today.
Weather bureau senior duty forecaster Greg Browning said the tropical low would have moved into the Gulf of Carpentaria by this morning where it was tipped to again become a tropical cyclone by midday.
It is not expected to threaten the Northern Territory again, but head east to the Queensland side of the border, making landfall in the Burketown region.
Cyclone Helen was downgraded to a category one when it was 40km east of Adelaide River and hit the town about 2am, causing some damage.
It was further downgraded to a tropical low at 6.30am and was last night hovering 290km east of Jabiru, moving east at 40km/h.
Mr Browning said the cyclone had dumped varying amounts of rainfall around the Top End with Pine Creek scoring the most at 213mm.
Adelaide River received 195mm, while the Douglas River soaked up 193mm, Port Keats had 145mm fall, Jabiru 117mm, Channel Point received 80mm, Humpty Doo 54mm, Katherine 46mm and Middle Point 53mm.
Mr Browning said the monsoonal trough was expected to continue bringing showers and storms over the Top End and gulf country for the next week.
But no further cyclones were expected.

The situation could not be more different in Central Australia.
Alice Springs is not going to have any respite from its run of days hotter than 40C, with the hot temperatures in the low 40s expected to continue for the next few days, Mr Browning said."

Hopefully, Helen will be put to sleep; but I am not yet fully convinced that she is asleep yet. We will continue to keep a watchful eye on the situation.
Sunny blue skies today with a nice breeze, so we shall get on with the clean up.

Cyclone Helen - the teenager cyclone?

2008-01-05T19:29:00.000+09:30

Cyclone Helen was “born” on January 1, so I guess it was to be expected that she would want to have people take notice of her, for a while at least. She started south of Katherine in the Northern Territory and headed west looking for water to grow in. The Bonaparte Gulf served that purpose and she wandered around for little more than a day, growing and then, as cyclones tend to do, started looking for land on which to cause havoc. Sort of like a teenager, really! Luckily for those in her path she was moving impatiently and crossed the coast late on her third day, rather than staying at sea, brewing. She headed almost due east past Adelaide River and continued on. Darwin was lucky this time. Winds were strong overnight with strong gusty conditions interspersed with lighter winds.

We may not have seen the last of this little lady yet; a thought The Australian newspaper is considering:

“CYCLONE Helen could still pose a threat to the Northern Territory, despite it sparing Darwin and nearby communities from major damage, NT police said today.

Overnight gales felled trees, flooded roads and caused widespread blackouts after Cyclone Helen crossed onto land near Channel Point, south of Darwin, shortly after 10pm (CST) yesterday. As emergency services and residents began the clean-up, grateful the damage was not more widespread, the system - downgraded to a tropical low overnight - continued to move overland. Communities along Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria coastline were on high alert as the tropical storm was expected to gather force and intensify in coming days. The system was today moving eastwards across the Northern Territory's Top End and is expected to regenerate into a cyclone when it crosses the gulf. Nhulunbuy and the Arnhem region are now under a cyclone watch and NT Police Commissioner Paul White today warned it was "too early to think the Territory had escaped''. "We need to ensure that people don't take their eyes off the ball,'' Commissioner White told reporters today. "There is still a chance the cyclone could redevelop in the western Gulf of Carpentaria tomorrow ... "I encourage people to maintain that preparedness, given the possible reformation of the cyclone, not to mention the heavy rain expected in areas that have the potential for flooding.'' Winds of up to 130km/h last night lashed the coast from Port Keats to Cape Hotham, including Darwin and the Tiwi Islands. More than 30 trees toppled in the capital during the night, with at least two striking houses and dozens blocking roads. Residents were urged to stay indoors today while emergency se

rvices worked to clean up a city littered with green.”

So we wait to see what the next few days bring.

Javan Pond Heron Flaps in

2007-03-18T13:12:00.000+09:30

From the ABC website ...

Javan Pond Heron has Twitchers in a Flap
Last Update: Friday, March 16, 2007. 10:36am ACST
By Anna Daniels
A winged creature from Indonesia has bird-lovers in a flap! The Javan Pond-Heron blew in from Indonesia with Cyclone George and has now taken up residency in Darwin’s northern suburbs.
News of his arrival spread quickly with ‘twitchers’ from all corners of Australia flying in to catch a glimpse.
Sheryl Keates, from the Northern Territory Field Naturalists Club, was one of the first spotters on the scene.
“Many people have come to see this bird. People have been from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Broome-you name it they’ve been here and they’re still coming,” she said.
For non-twitchers, those who don’t share the passion for bird-watching, the fuss over the feathers may seem perplexing but the Javan Pond-Heron has inadvertently created a mini-tourism boom.
“People coming up here spend money on accommodation, hire cars and food.”
Sheryl’s phone has been ringing hot since news of the heron’s arrival took flight and her enthusiasm for sharing the find is still sky high.
“It’s wonderful to be able to show people a new bird. Just the delight they get from seeing it. But I am going away in a couple of days so I’ll have a bit of a break from all this and someone else will have to take over.”
From http://www.abc.net.au/darwin/stories/s1873431.htm

So, earlier this morning we grabbed a camera and headed out to the end of Trower Rd in an attempt to track down this weary little feathered beast. We found a fair bit of wet grass and a seriously washed out drain; and had just about given up when, on our way back to the car, out flew the damp little critter, looking considerably flylagged and a bit shabby, definitely the worst for wear after his long journey. Sitting up high in a wet euchalypt he was probably wondering why he had decided to do his big overseas trip.

Tour Down Under Day 2

2007-03-15T21:45:00.000+09:30

Stage 2 - January 18: Mannum to Hahndorf, 150km
Belgians dominate Stage Two of 2007 Tour Down Under

Belgian riders Steven Caethoven, 25, and his Chocolade Jacques team mate Pieter Ghyllebert, 24, stole the march on local hero Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) today to post a one-two finish across the line at the end of the 150km second stage of the 2007 Tour Down Under from Mannum, through the Adelaide Hills to historic Hahndorf.

Caethoven stopped the clock at 3h36m29s with Ghyllebert and O'Grady one second behind him after the field put on a stunning display for the 85,000 fans who flocked to the circuit and delivered welcome news to his Belgian based fans shivering at home in the European winter.
The Chocolade Jacques team had been in the thick of the attacking action from the gun and their aggression paid off when they ended up with four riders in the lead group of twelve that contested the final sprint.

"Pieter Ghyllebert he launched me and behind me there was a gap ... I don't know why but it was easy for me," said Caethoven of the 15th win of his four year professional career . "We got the King of the Mountain jersey yesterday (Sergey Pauwels) and today we got a stage win so the pressure's off a little bit now.
"It's just fantastic so early in the season, it's a very big win and very important, it gives me a lot of confidence, said the Flemish cyclist who lives not far from Ghent. "Of course, it was four against one, but Stuart (O'Grady) was very strong and we had to give everything to beat him... he was very, very, very strong today
"There were constant attacks and in fact we had three little groups and they all came together - we had four guys, (at least) one in each group," said Caethoven.

O'Grady, who was named the Century 21 Most Aggressive Rider of the stage, was a key player today especially towards the end of the race when he launched an attack which saw him joined by Victorian Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) and Spaniard Eduardo Gonzalo (Agritubel). The trio had been with a leading group of 15 but couldn't hold off the Chocolade Jacques counter attack which swept them up 400 metres from home. Despite the effort O'Grady still found the speed to get in the placings which was some consolation for the South Australian and two time winner of the event.
"You can break it down any way you want, but at the end of the day, I was in an 'offensive' mood from the start, I was a bit disappointed after yesterday and wanted to put a bit of pain on the bunch and try to put the leaders under a bit of pressure," said O'Grady. "I did almost everything right, it was just unfortunate to fall upon four guys from the same team in the finish after such a hard day.
"That's racing, it's the beauty of having numbers at the finish...four in one group - when I saw that, I knew you've got everything cut out against you, you have to be ultra-aggressive," he said. "I was kind-of hoping I'd be able to pull something from out of the hat and jump back in and beat them in the sprint.
"Actually, I'm pretty happy, it was a long-hard day and the form is probably better than I expected, actually," said O'Grady who has team mate Lars Bak sitting in third overall, seven seconds off the lead. "We're not here to finish third and eighth overall, we're here to try to win the race, we're going to do everything we can."

The stage results had little impact on the overall rankings with all the main contenders safely ensconced in the main field which rode home 17m19s behind the stage winner. Tasmanian Karl Menzies (UniSA - Australia) is still wearing the leader's ochre jersey and is one second ahead of Swiss rider Martin Elmiger (AG2R-Preovoyance) in second.
"It wasn't too bad - they (UniSA Australia team) had to work pretty hard for 10 or 20km when there was a break with a GC rider (threat to my lead) in it at the start," said Menzies. "But then they had a whole lot of time off, they rested up after the climb and they only rode tempo at the end.
"They're world-class riders, they're strong boys," he said. "I wish they could push me all the way up Willunga (Stage 4 climb) that's the only thing. They won't be able to help me too much there but awesome team as they showed today. Awesome team and we can only see what happens."

The race was again aggressive from the start with an early attack at 15 kilometres which saw 20 riders go off the front but with second placed overall Elmiger in the group there was no way it would succeed.

At the first 'SA Lotteries' intermediate sprint at Tungkillo (25.7km) 1997 world champion, Laurent Brochard (FRA - Bouyges Telecom) attacked to claim the maximum bonus seconds and points with Tasmanian Wes Sulzberger (AUS - SouthAustralia.com-AIS) second and CSC debutant Matt Goss (AUS) third. Five other riders joined them soon after and they worked together to gain a lead of almost one minute by the 28km mark.

The group held the advantage to the second intermediate sprint at Mt Torrens (44km) where Sulzberger claimed the honours ahead of Brochard with Giampaolo Cheula (ITA - Barloworld) third.

Gotta get a good view for the camera

The Circus led by the ochre jersey arrives at

the King of the Mountain at Fox Creek Rd

The King of the Mountain

The race came back together by the 53km mark but as they approached the 'A Brilliant Blend' King of the Mountain at Lenswood the action hotted up. Over the top it was Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R-Prevoyance) picking up the maximum points ahead off Navigators rider Sergey Lagutin (UZB) and his team mate Hilton Clarke (AUS). The pressure applied on the climb left the race in bits and in the wake of the climb seven riders had formed a leading group with 14 others in pursuit.

The two groups came together at 85 kilometres to form a 21 strong attack.
The Share the Road Young Rider’s jersey and Oppy heads into Ambleside Rd

The race headed through Hahndorf for the first of three 20 kilometre circuits with six less riders in the lead group and by the time they crossed at the bell with one circuit to go the attacks were coming thick and fast before twelve riders regrouped to contest the final sprint.

The Hahndorf crowd welcomes the winner ............................. and the girls check out the guys in tight lycra

In the other classifications Luke Roberts (AUS-CSC) is tied on ten points for the 'SA Lotteries' Sprint Classification with three other riders but is higher ranked overall and takes over the lead.

Belgian Serge Pauwels (Chocolade Jaques) is tied on 16 points with Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R-Prevoyance) but is ahead overall so holds onto the leader's jersey in the 'A Brilliant Blend' King of the Mountain rankings. SouthAustralia.com-AIS rider Simon Clarke from Victoria still leads the 'Share the Road' Best Young Rider and his team has taken over the lead in the Bartercard Teams Classification.

Partly sourced from Tour Down Under http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/

Tour Down Under Day 1

2007-03-14T22:21:00.000+09:30

Stage 1 - January 17: Mawson Lakes to Tanunda, 152km
Menzies powers home to race lead in Tour Down Under

Australian Karl Menzies scored his biggest career result so far when he powered home at the end of the 155.5km stage one from Mawson Lakes to Tanunda to claim the early lead in the 2007 Tour Down Under.

72,000 fans lined the race route through South Australia's picturesque Barossa Valley wine growing region to witness the action and support the international field of 111 riders.

At the left you see the big downhill at around the 90km mark near Little Para River.

The riders approach Stockwell Rd at Stockwell ... followed by the entourage.

While we await the leaders, Marilyn prepares Devonshire Tea at Stockwell Rd near Siegersdorf Rd Angaston, ... and Peter enjoyed it!

The Race Director arrives at the southern end of Stockwell Rd, so the leaders won't be long.

The leaders arrive at Stockwell Rd followed by the next group about 20 minutes later.

Menzies was part of an 18 strong group that formed 16 kilometres into the stage but played his tactical cards to perfection in the final 30 kilometres to put himself with the leaders approaching the final sprint. The powerfully built 183cm Tasmanian, riding with the UniSA-Australia team, reacted quickly to counter an attack from Predictor-Lotto debutant, Australia's Matt Lloyd, 800 metres from the finish. Menzies blew past Lloyd and hit the front with 300 metres remaining. He won in a time of 3h50m51s ahead of fast finishing Swiss rider Martin Elmiger (AG2R-Prevoyance). Denmark's Lars Bak (Team CSC) crossed three seconds later to claim third.

Menzies' win comes hot on the heels of his third place finish in the men's road race at the Australian Championships last Sunday.
"This is as big as it gets for me - this is the best result by a long way," said Menzies. "That was everything I had on Sunday at the Nationals and I was beaten by two stronger guys on the day but you know another day, another race and I had the best legs today.
"We thought it might go down early, so we all had to be up there," he said of the early breakaway. "The group went and that was it for the day and then the attacking started with 30km to go and five of us left in theend, we all worked all the way to the line."
Menzies holds a narrow one second lead overall from Elmiger with Bak a further six seconds off the lead. Lloyd is sitting in fourth at nine seconds.
"I was a bit upset that I made the move because it means I've gotta make it up that Willunga Hill (Saturday's stage) so a bit of presure but I'll have a think about that later," joked Menzies. "I was just happy to win a stage and I could probably go home now if I wanted to (laughs). But I'll try and get to the end and we'll just wait to see what happens."
In the 'SA Lotteries' Sprint Classification Gene Bates (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) is tied on six points with Luke Roberts (CSC) but crossed the line ahead of his rival at the finish to lead that classification. Belgian Serge Pauwels (Chocolade Jaques) leads the 'A Brilliant Blend' King of the Mountain rankings. SouthAustralia.com-AIS rider Simon Clarke has an almost unassailable lead in the 'Share the Road' Best Young Rider as the only U23 rider in the lead break and Juan Miguel Mercado (Agritubel) was named the 'Century 21' Most Aggressive Rider of the day. The CSC team holds the lead in the Bartercard Teams Classification.

Stage 1 started under sunny skies with the promise of a steamy day in the saddle for the stellar field of riders who wasted no time getting the racing underway. South Australian, Brett Aitken (UniSA-Australia) launched an early attack at the six kilometre mark and he was joined soon after by fellow South Australian, Gene Bates (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) and New Zealand's Gordon McCauley but the break failed to stick.

However at the 16 kilometre mark an attack was launched that proved to be the decisive one and by the first SA Lotteries intermediate sprint of the day at One Tree Hill (26.5km) 18 riders had established a lead of more than two minutes. South Australian Luke Roberts (CSC) claimed the sprint points ahead of Bates and Spaniard Juan Miguel Mercado (Agritubel).

With a lead group containing a rider from each team of the race, (CSC, SouthAustralia.com-
AIS, Predictor-Lotto and Bouygues Telecom had two representatives each in the group), there was no incentive for the rest of the field to chase it down and by the time the leaders reached the 'A Brilliant Blend' King of the Mountain at Humbug Scrub the gap had increased to more than five minutes with only New Zealand's Clinton Avery giving chase.
The second intermediate sprint at Williamstown (59.9km) saw Bates first across the line ahead of Roberts with Elmiger third. Avery remained a lone figure 6m14s behind the leaders with the gap to the main field at almost 12 minutes.

The leaders passed through Tanunda to begin the first loop through the Barossa Valley intact but when they approached Seppeltsfield for the final loop the attacks began and by the time the front of the race turned back onto the Barossa Valley Highway at Nuriootpa for the final run into the finish the five riders who would fight out the placings were well clear.
Stuart O'Grady (CSC) led the main field home 26m15s after Menzies with Avery placing 19th at 24m35s after a very lonely day on the road.

Partly sourced from Tour Down Under website: http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/

Tour Down Under - 1

2007-01-26T10:41:00.000+09:30

A downhill with the peleton fairly close together and really humming; and I do mean humming, as they passed by us as we were standing on the side of the road. The noise was amazing! The hair on the back of my neck stood up. The riders were travelling at about 90 km/h and the tyres were really whistling! Much louder than a truck that had passed by just previous to the road closure.

Dog sees the Rooster off

2007-01-09T23:13:00.000+09:30

2005………………… 2006

Christmas sort of got away from us last year, so I decided that as New Year came too soon after Christmas (still not enough time to get a letter organised) the last chance was Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is quite significant in Darwin as a result of our local Chinese history going back to the goldrush days of the late 1800’s when many came as goldiggers and stayed as merchants. Many 4th and 5th generation Chinese look physically Chinese but are real Aussies.

We have also had a new addition to the family last year, a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy (well she was when she arrived) whom we have called Mazoe. She arrived in July and immediately set about trying to win the heart of our very old and quite frail Ridgeback cross Shumbah. After a couple of days she learnt some fundamental lessons of how to be friendly to a cranky old dog! Shumbah has since died and now Mazoe has taken over the responsibilities of keeping Peter in line. They have regular long conversations, some quite philosophical but others quite heated, particularly when Mazoe decides to eat something that Peter feels was not meant to be edible. She is, however, developing into a lovely animal and at 8 months old weighs about 30kg and stands about 70cm high.
During the last year we have done a number of small trips, mostly a week here and there but quite interesting. Starting in January Peter had a very quick trip to Curtin Airforce Base near Derby in Western Australia for work and I went along for the ride. The weather was really hot; up to 46˚ and very humid as well. Quite trying and even airconditioning was not coping too well with those conditions. We had a chance to have a tiny look around Broome early in the morning before we flew home, just a taste to decide we would like to return, but when the weather was a bit more pleasant – in the Dry season. To the left is a picture of a monument, in the main street of Broome, to the early pearl divers who were an important industry in the area.
At the end of March we headed north to Singapore for 6 days and then took an interesting bus ride to Melacca in Malaysia. We though the bus trip (local bus) would take about 3 hours and 6 hours later we arrived in Melacca. We visited every roadside stop and petrol station between Singapore and Melacca and saw about 20 trillion Oil Palms, both sides of the bus, all the way! The bus was also the local courier service. Melacca is a beautiful place, so much history; I think every country that had a boat and someone to sail it has had some input into Melacca’s history and architecture, Portugese, Dutch, English as well as Chinese and other “locals.” I could fill a page with information and photos but then you would have no urge to go there so I shall put just a few. The yellow building is the beautifully restored Puri Hotel – a 200 year old home of a Peranakan merchant– it must have been state of the art when it was built! We decided to stay there after seeing a picture of it in a Malaysian tourist brochure a couple of years ago in Singapore. We searched for it on the web and were surprised to find that it even had free wireless broadband internet connection for guests to use their own laptops and a small internet room for those who didn’t. It seemed quite an enigma to be sitting in a hotel with such a history and be using the latest computer technology. Even in technology elite Singapore not too many hotels have wireless broadband and if they do they have sure worked out how to charge for it! The picture on the right is taken in the foyer of the Puri. The buildings are beautiful and tiny thumbnails really don’t do them justice. The red building is the one you may have seen in a tourist brochure – the Christ Church – built by the Dutch in 1753, to celebrate the centenary of their occupation of Melaka. It was originally a Dutch Reform Church but was later consecrated as an Anglican Church. We had dinner at the restaurant at which Sean Connery met his “handler” in Entrapment and cruised down the river to see the scene of the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers (superimposed) from the riverside slum in the same movie. Much of the movie was filmed in Melaka, not KL as viewers were led to believe. Another feature of the architecture in Melaka is many beautifully carved and often colourfully painted doors and windows. I think there could be a coffee table book published of them – there has probably already been several! The only downside of the time there was that the weather was as hot and humid as it can be in Darwin in November. That made getting around a little more difficult, as it was much more pleasant, during the middle of the day, to sit in the shady courtyard of the hotel and read and keep up the fluids, or even worse, curl up in the airconditioning! After Melaka we then travelled on to KL by bus, a lot quicker trip than the previous one and had a very brief look around the city. We were very lucky to manage a trip up the Petronas Towers. Even the trip in the lift is impressive – 46 floors in 46 seconds or thereabouts anyway. The tour is to the 41st floor bridge (there are two bridges but for security, tourists can only visit one, tenants use the other). The building is quite spectacular, stainless steel and glass and the view from it is very good. The atmosphere was reasonably clear when we were there so we could see quite well. Our intention was to return to KL in August for a longer visit, but the fires in Indonesia had caused such smokey conditions and people were being advised to stay indoors. We decided that, as tourists, if we couldn’t see anything and had to stay in our hotel it wasn’t much point going. We will return there soon as we would like to see more of the city and surrounds. We travelled around on the monorail while we were there as it is fairly quick, avoids the city traffic and had a station quite close to our hotel. The train systems are quite good but as far as we could work out, none of the systems “talk” to each other, resulting in needing to buy separate tickets if you need to change trains for a trip of any distance and no system to buy stored value or day tickets as you can in other places. Probably OK if you are a local and know the fares and the routes, but a little more difficult if you are unfamiliar with the place. We came back to Singapore on the overnight sleeper train leaving KL at 10pm and arriving in Singapore at 8am. We quite enjoyed the train trip and the sleeper carriage was quite comfortable for the massive outlay of about A$30. We had two more days in Singapore shopping, taking in the local food and then home and back to work.
During May we had a young visitor from Sweden. We took her to Kakadu National Park and crocodile cruising, where she got to feed a croc, and have her photo taken and was awarded a certificate which was a different souvenir to take home! She then spent 6 weeks working on a cattle station about 900km southeast of Darwin. That was quite an eye opener for her and she really enjoyed it. Carolina’s older sister, while she was in Brisbane studying, had met the daughter of the station owner and the opportunity arose that way. She has taken back many memories and photos of her experience! The photo shows Carolina paddling on a crocodile free billabong.
In early May we travelled to Newcastle to visit Peter’s brother who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease in 2004. We were also able to catch up with Paul in Sydney, friends on the Central Coast and then on to Brisbane for a brief trip to the Sunshine Coast and visit with Patrick and Rebecca.
In June we flew to Kununurra for Peter to head bush and do an erosion survey for the extension of the Ord River irrigation scheme. Much bush bashing and walking in tall grass was undertaken, but the weather was glorious, the time seemed to fly and the work got done. To the right you see a scientist at work – no it is not what you think, he is reading the GPS after lunch by the Keep River, just over the border back into the NT. I hadn’t been to Kununurra since 1973 when I was pregnant with Kerstin so a few things had changed in that time; like they have opened up tourist access to the dam, greened the town and you wouldn’t camp on the diversion dam wall like we did in 1973! We even had a beautiful meal at a restaurant that would stand up anywhere – Stars of the Kimberly is the name if you are ever there, and I hope the chef is still there and performing as well as the meals we had! Quite a surprise for a town of 10 000 people. Quite good art available too, particularly local indigenous art. We were able to make a quick trip out to Lake Argyle and it is quite spectacular. Completed in 1972, it covers 740 sq km! The spillway wall was raised 6 metres in 1996, almost doubling its capacity, it contains 12 times the water of Sydney Harbour. Boating is allowed above and below the spillway, with boat trips available from below the spillway back into Kununurra. I would have liked to been able to do that trip but time did not allow it as we had to catch a plane back to Darwin.
At the end of July we headed north again, firstly to Singapore and then on by boat to the Indonesian island of Bintan for a few days of relaxation, book reading, snorkelling and resting by the pool. We then travelled back to Singapore. At this stage we were to go back to KL but the weather was not obliging so we stayed in Singapore, did day trips to Malaysia and ate lots of local food. Peter has tried for 30 years to get me to eat Indian food and it has taken until the last couple of years for me to be convinced; and now I’m hooked, but still on the reasonably mild version. Singapore has fantastic local food of many types and really cheaply priced. We also visited the 1421 exhibition of Chinese naval adventurers. Very interesting and puts a different view on the story we were taught about the European sailing adventurers.
The “buildup” to the Wet season this year seemed particularly trying, with the temperatures remaining higher than normal, particularly overnight (rarely below 27˚C), less breeze than we would like and of course the constant humidity. I was looking for any chance to escape to somewhere with drier weather and cooler nights!
November saw Peter off to a conference in Toowoomba and I grabbed my hat and bag and went too. We had a couple of days on the Gold Coast relaxing, then the conference and back to Brisbane for the weekend with Patrick and Rebecca and a quick visit to the Sunshine Coast. On the Gold Coast we managed to get a lovely room with about 300˚ view north, south, beach and hinterland and even a “loo with a view” south and to the hinterland! In Toowoomba the Spring flowers had retired gracefully from many of the gardens but the jacaranda trees were in spectacular bloom and I just couldn’t resist some photos of them. The picture to the right shows, in the background, the new (under construction) tallest building on the Gold Coast – Q1 – the world’s tallest residential tower – as it says on it’s web site “set amidst one hectare of tropical landscaped grounds, lagoons, waterfalls and resort facilities. This unique building with 80 levels of luxury living will be an internationally recognised landmark destination.” A bit too tall for me I think but I guess they will get takers for at least enough of their 527 apartments and 1 penthouse! In Brisbane, we dined by the river, travelled on the River Cat and visited Southbank. You will see a picture of Patrick, Rebecca and Peter reluctantly posing beside the river.
November also saw us have a quick trip to Adelaide, for Peter to attend a Plant Variety Rights workshop and look at sewerage ponds. He does involve himself in interesting things, but the wetlands associated with the ponds at Mt Barker are very well presented, with lots of wildlife and many people enjoying the walks and bike paths the day we were there. They had to drag me away from the waterbirds before I overheated the camera. Well worth a visit if you get the chance. We were able to spend the weekend catching up with friends we hadn’t seen for quite a while and enjoying the splendid improvements made to their garden at their “farmhouse” which is only 5 years old and was a cow paddock before they started. From the house you can look out over the paddocks, right down the valley. The weekend there was so quiet and scenic, I didn’t want to leave! But we did and after a couple of more days in the city, while Peter worked and I undertook some retail therapy with a friend we returned to tropical weather. At least by then the storm rains had started and the weather was a lot more pleasant. Late on Christmas Eve we had quite a severe storm come through, short and sharp with winds up to 120km/h, stripping leaves off the trees in its path and bringing down three trees in our yard and the neighbours yards on either side. It just happened that the neighbours were both away and so Peter got to be the good neighbour and clean up the mess. He got to buy a new boy toy, a chain saw, so that he could cut up the trees and move them.
The monsoon arrived mid January and with it came quite strong winds that have kept things relatively cooler between the rain storms. It has also whipped up the waves along the beaches near us and all the normally packed away surfboards and boogy boards were bought out to catch the surf. Waves are not something we often see in Darwin, usually only when there is a cyclone imminent.
Back to the Chinese New Year celebrations. It is traditional for the lion to visit the shops and businesses of those of Chinese descent at Chinese New Year to bring good luck for the coming year and to collect their Red Packets. For those who aren’t familiar with Chinese tradition, a red packet is a monetary gift given on a special occasion, in a red envelope. They are also the standard form in which cash for political bribes is given. The red color of the packet symbolizes good luck and the amount of money in the packet is often some lucky number (such as a number containing many eights, which sounds similar to the Chinese term for "prosperity"). In Chinese society, the monetary value of the gift is very important and gifts of red envelopes are socially acceptable precisely because they allow the receiver to accurately measure the strength of a social relationship. One of the lion “dancers” works in our office and I was able to get some photos taken this year of the lion dancing and then catching his red packet in his mouth.

My First Post

2006-11-25T22:32:00.000+09:30

This is my first blog post ... ever ... alas, I am no longer a virgin!