Every Day Life
An Exhibition of Works by the World’s Top Selling Female Artist
The National Gallery of Victoria is currently holding an exhibition of the works of a famous Japanese artist. We gained a large dose of ‘culcha’ when we visited her exhibition today. It is so large that it takes up the whole ground floor of the gallery and is presented in two parts. Yayoi Kusama is […]
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Coffee Encounters
One of my enduring memories of my service in Vietnam is that of being in a convoy way out in the boondocks resupplying a forward operation. There in the middle of nowhere, and in a potentially dangerous location, was an Australian Salvation Army Officer and his Landrover ready to serve us a cup of hot […]
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Over the Haast Pass to NZ’s West Coast
We had about 275 kilometres to travel today but we were not rushed and today’s drive felt very comfortable and relaxed. Perhaps it was the coffee in Wanaka that we waited 20 minutes to get. The young barista in the cafe was working hard and she had our coffees up as fast as she could […]
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A Triangle of Art Gallery Visits
Victoria is home to a vibrant arts scene that is mostly celebrated in Melbourne. However, the regional art galleries around the state, and especially in Geelong, Ballarat, and Bendigo, hold their own unique charm and serve as important cultural hubs. These galleries not only showcase exceptional national art but also provide an opportunity to see […]
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Fantasy Images
Happy New Year to all our friends and readers. It’s very hot here in Melbourne today – 37C (100F) and tomorrow is forecast to be 38C. The best thing to do on days like these is to be inside with the Aircon on, watch the cricket (2nd day of the 5th test match between Australia […]
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Abandoned or Reused
For the last three days we have been back in Victoria’s central gold fields region having a break after Christmas. I have written about this area before in previous posts – https://www.wilsons.id.au/more-exploration-around-creswick/ On this visit, we have noticed many old buildings that have been abandoned or now serve a different purpose. Some of these date […]
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My Friends, the Magpies
The Australian magpie is a highly intelligent and iconic bird native to Australia. It is known for its melodious song and bold behavior. The magpie plays a significant role in Australian culture, often appearing in folklore, art, and sports team mascots. We have a family of four of these birds that live around our house […]
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Our Local War Memorial Has Had a Facelift
Continuing with my recent attention to military commemorations, I see that the upgrade of our local War Memorial in Templestowe is now complete. The memorial was first constructed at the intersection of Templestowe Road and Anderson Street. At that time, this was the geographic cnetre of the town – near the town hall, courthouse and […]
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Honouring my Grandfather’s WW1 Service
Once again, I have attended the annual commemoration service conducted by the Friends of the 15th Brigade Organisation at the Shrine of Remembrance to honour those who served and died in the Battle of Polygon Wood in 1916. The ‘Battle of Polygon Wood’ during WW1 was a significant engagement in which Australian forces played a […]
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Darwin Reunion – Day 1
We had a slow start to our reunion yesterday morning and some frustrating time with cars. Our rental car was showing a warning light that we couldn’t delete and I didn’t want to drive all the way to Melburne with it on. We arranged with Hertz to swap it over to a different car, so, […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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