Every Day Life
We Have Arrived in Darwin
We are now in Darwin, Australia’s most northern city. It’s the location of the 85 Transport Platoon (Vietnam) reunion. These reunions are held every two years in different locations around the country Those who served in this unit came from many places across Australia. Flights to Darwin often arrive late at night or early in […]
Read More
The Joy of the Open Road – A Little Self Promotion
Generally, every week, my alter ego ‘Grumpybum the Photographer’ publishes a gallery of selected photos on a specific theme or subject. Gallery Number 60 – ‘The Joy of the Open Road was published today. If you would like to see a regular series of great photos on interesting topics, visit Grumpy Bum’s web page and […]
Read More
Have You Ever Stopped at a War Memorial?
Two weeks ago The Friends of the 15th Brigade commemortive organisation, to which I belong, conducted its annual service at the Shrine of Remembrance to honour the WW1 Battle of Fromelles. A number of veterans, like me, had relatives in that battle. My grandfather, Walter Wilson. was a sergeant in the 57th Batallion in WW1 […]
Read More
Lightscape in Melbourne
The annual Lightscape show at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens is a dazzling display that transforms these serene and lush botanic gardens into a magical wonderland of lights and sounds. After dark, the gardens are illuminated with an array of colors and patterns, creating a surreal experience for visitors. This event, along a 2km track, combines […]
Read More
Melbourne’s Immigration Museum
Not everyone gets to see interesting attractions in their own city. Yesterday, my Probus Club and I visited the Immigration Museum which is located in the grand old Customs House building on the bank of the Yarra River. It contains stories and histories of people from over 96 countries who have immigrated to Victoria since […]
Read More
Our Winter’s Day Out in the Hills for Lunch
What better to do on a dismal wet winter’s day than to head to the hills for lunch. This weekend is the Queen’s birthday long holiday weekend. (I’m living in the past – it’s actually the King’s birthday long weekend, but since Queen Elizabeth was on the throne for virtually all my life, its hard […]
Read More
Walking Around Melbourne’s World Famous Street Art Lanes and Alleyways
Melbourne is renowned for its vibrant street art scene, particularly in its laneways and arcades. These laneways are not just pedestrian thoroughfares but have become canvases for local and international artists, making the city a dynamic open-air gallery. I spent today with other members of my Probus Club exploring these interesting laneways. We generally followed […]
Read More
An Autumn Day Out
I always think that Autumn is the nicest time of year in Melbourne and today was a prime example. We had a balmy sunny day with no wind and blue skies. The temperature was a mild 20C. These Autumn days get cool once the sun goes down and the nights are quite cool but this […]
Read More
Events of the Last Few Weeks
My last few weeks have been busy wih activities that, on their own aren’t significant, although they have had an impact on me. Liberation of Villers Brettoneux Memorial Service Some years ago, along with my good friend Ken, I joined a commemorative organisation called ‘The Friends of the 15th Brigade’. This was the Brigade in […]
Read More
The Titanic Artifacts Exhibition
This week, I visited a superbly curated exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. It was a display of artifacts, stories and reproductions from the RMS Titanic that famously sank on her maiden voyage when she hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 lost their lives […]
Read More
Our Pleasant Sunday Morning
There is something to say about being immersed in art. That’s what happened to us this morning when we visted the Lume in Southbank. The Lume is Australia’s only electronic art gallery. It’s an enormous space where images are projected onto the walls and suspended screens in a wonderful display of action and colour. We […]
Read More
There’s One More Thing
“Just One More Thing” was the phrase that Steve Jobs used at the end of an Apple World Wide Developers Conference to announce somthing important and significant before the end of the event. We finsihed our Tasmanian adventure on Saturday, staying in Geelomg overnight as the ferry was almost teo hours late in arriving. Driving […]
Read More