Anzac Day and Commemorations

This last week has been a good time of reflection and commemoration. Two significant days on Monday nd Tuesday saw me involved in ceremonies that commemorated Australia’s military involvement in conflicts that have kept ua, and the world, safe and free. Monday (April 24) was the 105th anniversary of the liberation of the French village…

Our Photo Day in the Yarra Valley Vineyards

Friday was a balmy and all Autumn day in Melbourne so we made an instant decision to drive to the RACV Club in the Yarra Valley for lunch. I made a mistake in not taking my camera as it was peak colour in the vineyards and very spectacular. When we were first married, I remember…

It’s a Cold and Wet Easter

Easter normally marks the end of the good weather in Melbourne and this year it is doing so with a vengeance. The weather on every day over this long weekend is  forecast to be showers with cool temperatures. In fact it will be the coldest Easter for eighty years. On Good Friday, in Victoria, we…

Our Summer Days Out

Our summer is much more mild than usual but this week we have had some nice days that made it very pleasant to be out and about. Our first day out was to go for a drive down to the Morning Peninsula to Seawind Gardens and have a picnic lunch. We picked up a baguette…

Grumpybum’s Photography Gallery

I’m getting more grumpy as I get older, but I’ve decided to do something about it. I have over 85,000 photos in my image collection from my travel to over 65 countries, along with images from my many local photo shoots. Rather than just have them just sit on my hard drive, I’ve created a…

It’s an Exciting Time Here In Melbourne

At the moment, Melbourne is abuzz with excitement and activity. We wrestled with big crowds, today, as we drove into the CBD for lunch and then to see one of Melbourne’s outstanding art attractions.. At the moment, in Melbourne, we have the Australian Open tennis match at the Tennis Centre with big crowds, closed streets and…

The Other Way is a Very Long Trip Indeed!

The Kimberley region of Australia is about as far from Melbourne as you can get. It is diagonally across the continent and is a vast and remote area of the outback.  Life there is tough . Tides in the town of Derby average about 11 metres (36 feet). The water temperature of the public swimming…

This is a Relaxing Time of Year

The period between Christmas and New Year is quite a relaxed time of year for us. The rush leading up to Christmas is over and it’s time to sit back, relax and catch up with some outstanding tasks.  We have had cool and moist weather over the last three years because of the La Niña…

My First Day in the Sub Antarctic Islands

We cleared immigration and sailed last night from the Port of Bluff on the Heritage Adventurer. Strong south westerly winds created large seas and the ship rocked and rolled all night By midday today they had mellowed and are now quite flat. For me, w we see alking is a bit like having Parkinson’s –…

Rain Problems but Sunny Days at the Zoo

We are in some trouble here in Victoria. The weather forecast for the next day or so is for up to 100 mm (4 inches) of rain. It will cause extensive flooding. I searched the DIY stores and even Amazon to see if I could find some Gopher Wood to build an ark, as Noah…

Can’t See My Blog Images?

Some of you who receive subscription emails from my blog, report that they cannot see the images in the updates that they receive by email. This is a problem unique to Apple devices – iPhones. iPads, and Mac computers. I have raised this issue with Apple’s technical people but it has never been resolved. For…

We Are Celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday was the date in 1972 that Jill and I were married at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Box Hill. The Vicar, a crusty old time priest said, when he found out that I was a Methodist and Jill an Anglican, “Mixed marriages don’t really work”. Well, here we are still together (very happily) after…