Wilsons Promontory is named after Thomas Wilson, a merchant friend of Mathew Flinders, one of the early explorers of Australia's coastline. We spent a very pleasant few days in the National Park to do some bushwalking. The 'Prom' has had a series of disasters over recent years. In 2009, most of the park was burnt in a very extensive bushfire and masses of grey skeletons of trees are very obvious around the ...

Anzac Day 2013 is the 98th anniversary of the original landing by be the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day on which Australians commemorate the service of those who have served their country on Active Service. Remembrance Day, in November, on the other hand, is the day on which we remember those who gave their lives in combat in all wars. I have developed a fairly rou ...

Having just spent hours on planes and in airports, I found this article from NBC News very interesting. Just remember it when next you fly!   Flying increases flatulence, according to an article published Friday in the peer-reviewed New Zealand Medical Journal, and passengers should release the gas -- or risk painful medical consequences.Lead author Dr. Jacob Rosenberg, professor of surgery at the Universit ...

We were doing very well with our humble little string of solar powered Christmas lights until the gardner snipped the wire from the solar panel today when trimming some of the bushes in the garden. Fortunately, he cut them on an angle, so even by torchlight I could work out which wire needed to be joined to which other one of the three in the strand. I hope that my twisted joins and sealing with red insulat ...

Im sitting at my computer contemplating the terrible shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School In Newton, Connecticut in the USA.. The killing of so many innocent children and their teachers is unfathomnable. I think about my own kids and my grandchildren - little Audrey and Violet; sweet, energetic kids, full of personality and beautiful loving little girls. I can't imagine how one would cope with the loss ...

It's true that travel broadens the mind. What was once right or wrong, simply becomes different. Things that were once unknown, now become understandable. Narrow mindedness decreases and understanding alternatives is possible. Bigoted and biased opinions are replaced with a more sensitive understanding of other possibilities. That is until you get home from an overseas trip and run into the least unders ...

I've just come home from visiting the United States where one part of our trip was to visit the grave of John F Kennedy at Arlington Cemetery. On a nearby wall is inscribed his famous words "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." These are very noble words and very inspiring. They provide a demanding challenge for us to put our country first and ...

Last night, we had the second part of our Christmas present that we gave  ourselves - a night with Sir David Attenborough (along with a fully packed Regent Theatre in Melbourne). We were a bit unsure as to what format the evening would take, but it consisted of a guided conversation (more than an interview) led by Ray Martin. He and Sir David sat in  large ottoman chairs on the stage and from time to time, ...