Eden - aptly named.

(Olympus 300 Digital)
Down on the far south coast of New South Wales, just above the border with Victoria, sits the little fishing town of Eden.
This is a beautiful spot to spend a weekend and we did this in 2003, when the Canberra MG car club arranged a weekend tour.

Eden has a strong history associated with whaling, the operation ending many decades ago.
Now the only whaling activity is centred on whale-watching, rather than whale-catching.
The fishing industry remains very strong, however.

(Olympus 300 Digital)
Eden is also the most southerly port in NSW and is the haven to which any retirements from the annual Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race head if they drop out before crossing the Bass Straight.

A delightful spot and it is easy to see why the location was named "Eden" - it is a little bit of paradise.

Winter is definitely here!

(Sony DSC-F717)

Last week I and my boss did the monthly run from Canberra up through the Snowy Mountains, calling into the Snowy-Hydro locations which are serviced by the company for whom I work.
The trip took in the power stations at Talbingo, (T3), Cabramurra (T1 and T2) and Khancoban (M1 and M2) plus the various Group Control HQ's, depots and accommodation at Cabramurra.

We took a 2-wheel drive Hyundai van, loaded with equipment and supplies that needed to be dropped off at the various locations and we weren't far out of Cabramurra when we ran into snow (see photo above).

Our original overnight stop was to be Cabramurra but it was pretty clear that we had a very good chance of being iced-in and would not be able to negotiate the road to Khancoban until well into the following day.
Whilst we were having lunch the snow really started to come down and a decision was made to do the T2 inspection as quickly as possible and then head to Khancoban, which is below the snow-line.

(Nokia mobile phone used for both images)

Cabramurra, and our van is in the centre background.

The "village square" (90 degrees to the left of the first photo) which looks very European. Footprints have already been covered.

(Nokia mobile phone. L-to-R Bob McGregor and Liz Schaeffer from Snowy-Hydro and Len Petch, my boss)

This is the entrance to the Tumut 2 (T2) power station, which is another kilometre in under the mountain. It seems like a long drive but at least the tunnel is lit.
This station - and Tumut 1 (T1) - are the only two underground power stations in Australia.

Although only about 20 minutes from Cabramurra, this location was below the snowline that day.

The trip continued the following day (Wednesday) with visits to Murray 1 and Murray 2 (M1 & M2) power stations near Khancoban, followed by the return trip to Canberra via Tumbarumba, Tumut and Gundagai.

Certainly a very refreshing couple of days and a change from the regular nine-to-five routine!

An old hobby resurfaces.

(Nikon EM, scanned from 35MM slide)

Once upon a time......
Well, back in the late 1970's and into the early-to-mid 1980's, I used to paint military figurines.
It started off as a hobby for my own interest but I ended up doing commissions.

When I moved to Canberra in 1984, with the HUGE change of lifestyle and work I gave it away, not resurrecting the interest until 2005.
Then it lapsed for another few years until recently, when the interest resurfaced and I dusted off the paints and brushes, taking up where I left off almost 4 years ago.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos

(Sony DSC-F717 digital)
We don't get too many of these larrikins hanging around our place. Plenty of their cousins, the pink & grey galah and a variety of parrots. These fellows often fly over but rarely stop to eat.
Photographed recently, snacking on a hand-out of sunflower seeds in our front yard.
(The dish is fixed to the stump of what was once a beautiful weeping cherry tree. Then the rains stopped).
I tried to get them to raise the crest by making a bit of a disturbance, but they were too accustomed to urban living to be alarmed by some bloke making silly noises!


A lovely bird. Just a pity that they screech so loudly - usually at dawn!

Happy Birthday, young brother!

Several years ago - well, about 54 - my brother, Grant, was photographed looking pretty cute.
From the looks of this I'd say he was approx. one-year old (I would have been about 11). He was definitely a photogenic baby. That smile really grabs you. (Original monotone photo colourised in October 2011).


(Scanned 35mm slide; Nikon EM )
Fast-forward twenty years to his 21st. birthday (circa 1976 - I can't remember the year but the date is 27th. May) and the cute face has lost some of its cuteness, that's for sure - and it's certainly more hairy! He is also posing looking artistically-serious.


(Olympus 1300 digital)
Now fast-forward another 20+ years - to 2004, to be exact - and that face could be straight out of Hemingway's "The Old Man And The Sea". But notice that the smile hasn't changed in 55 years.

Happy Birthday, young brother. May there be many more.

A weekend in the Southern Highlands

(Click on the images for full-size versions)

Last weekend we meandered our way through some of the most beautiful countryside in New South Wales - the rolling hills and forested escarpment that makes up the Southern Highlands, with their quaint and idyllic towns and villages.
Mittagong, Moss Vale and Bowral are probably the names that come to mind - Bowral in particular because of the Bradman connection. Others include Robertson, Fitzroy Falls and Kangaroo Valley, Berrima and Bundanoon.
This is really a delightful area in which to spend a "lost weekend".

Not too far out of Robertson, on the way to the Jamberoo Valley, is a relatively-new tourist attraction called "Illawarra Fly".
(Rather than my trying to describe it fully, and probably failing to do it justice, just click on the link in the name).
This has been in operation for less than a year, provides a spectacular and unique view of the coastal plain and is worth a visit.
Below are some shots that I took during our adventure.


This view looks north and the southern outskirts of Wollongong may be seen in the distance.

The photo was taken from this..........


Many, many metres above the forest floor and literally walking through the tree-tops.
There was a strong wind blowing above us but on the walk itself it was relatively calm and peaceful - just a (gulp!) gentle swaying!

Not for the faint-hearted is this observation tower - the viewing platform of which is another umpteen metres higher than the walkway and is accessed by a spiral staircase.


I opted out of climbing this thing; I'd be no good on an old four-masted clipper ship and would be clapped in irons pretty quickly for telling the First Mate what to do with his top-gallant!

In addition to the touring we also had much time for eating & drinking, the highlight being the "Tweed & Tartan"-themed dinner on Saturday night.
Several of our gathering decided to become "Jimmies" for the evening.....


(L to R Tony Argyle, Peter Daley, Geoff Nickols, Peter Dalton, Peter Lewis)

The weekend was capped off on the Sunday with a visit to the Bradman Museum at Bowral, followed by luncheon (cricketers always refer to is as "luncheon") in the pavilion, pictured below from the oval.


A delightful weekend spent in an area in which I could live very happily......once I win the lottery!

Airport security gates; what a shambles!

Last Friday I flew from Canberra to Sydney. It's been a while since I've flown but I was familiar with the more stringent requirements of security checks prior to boarding one's aircraft.

The walk-through at Canberra terminal was fine.
I removed my glasses and 'phone, placed them in the little blue tray and walked through the arch without any problem.

The experience that afternoon at Sydney terminal for the return trip was a horror story.
Again, I placed my mobile 'phone and glasses in the tray and walked through the archway.
"SQUE-E-E-AL"!

I backed up and grabbed another tray (the first one had disappeared into the "black hole") and placed my watch & wallet in it and also removed my shoes and placed them in the same tray.
"SQUE-E-E-AL"!

My two travelling colleagues were watching this from the "we passed okay" side of the barrier and behind me I had a rapidly-growing queue of passengers waiting to go through the same process.

I removed my belt and my small change...which amounted to about four dollars...and placed this lot on top of my jacket (I thought I should take it off too, just in case) in yet another blue tray and then asked one of the guards if he thinks I should strip down to my underwear. No reaction; he just stood there with a dull, bovine look on his face. He certainly found the right job to fit his outgoing personality.

This time I walked through without the alarm sounding and then attempted to find three blue trays which contained all my worldly possessions.
In my haste to get dressed and put away all my bits 'n' pieces, I picked up the tray that contained my belt and jacket, with the coins sitting on top, swung around to place it on an empty bit of bench-top and scattered coins the length and breadth of the entire lobby area.

They were still there when, swearing and cursing (and not under my breath, either), I left this three-ring circus and headed for the boarding gate.

I can only put this fiasco down to the fact that the metal detector in the archway in Sydney was set at a much higher sensitivity level than its cousin in Canberra.

The next time, I'm wearing shorts, T-shirt and thongs and carrying nothing!

Time passes too quickly

Taken in 1986. Drew was three and Lauren was six years old and we were having a holiday in a house near a beach at Bateman's Bay.
The kids had just finished lunch when I sat them down on the front porch and snapped what has become my favourite photo of them when they were young. The smiley faces are heart-warming.

Lauren is now a mother and her children - my grandchildren - are the same ages as the two shown above.
Matilda is nearly three and William is six.

Time really does fly past.

".....пять, четыре, три, два, одно, воспламенения"

The heading translates as the last six seconds in the countdown for a rocket launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, USSR.
What on earth (or in space) does that have to do with anything? I hear you ask.

Well, I was a child of the space-age.
When the USSR launched Sputnik in 1957, I was just on 11 years old and from that moment I followed the space-race so keenly that I would lay awake at night in my boarding-school bed listening (on a small transistor radio with ear-piece) to The Voice Of America short-wave broadcasts of every US space launch.
The Russians weren't as forth-coming; they would only publicly announce after the event (and then only if it was successful) but the excitement I felt wasn't any less.

On 12th. April 1961 the first man went into space: Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth.
This was science-fiction come to life and it didn't matter that the hero was Russian - it was the event itself that was awesome.

Anyway - getting to the point - I recently discovered that the type of watch that Gagarin wore into space was available on the internet and, after doing some research, I happened upon the example shown here.

The watch-band and the dial are reproductions - modern replacements for what must have been very tired 50-year old originals - but the movement, case, crystal and back-plate are exactly as issued in 1961.

It was a hand-wound Shturmanskie (often spelt without the 'h') with central seconds complication and a hacking feature that allowed the watch to be precisely stopped and synchronised with a given time signal.

The Shturmanskie that Gagarin wore into space had a highly finished (including Geneva striping!) 17 jewel, shock protected movement. The movement was housed in a chrome plated, two-piece case measuring 33 mm across, 12 mm high, with a 16 mm lug size and had a stainless steel screw back.

A little item of nostalgia with which to commemorate the 48th. anniversary of the event and something which I will enjoy wearing occasionally.

Once Upon a Time....

I was wandering through an old family photo album recently and in amongst the collection was this one of my youngest sister, Venette. She was 2 or 3 years old and appearing in her first concert.
The venue would have been the Kendall School of Arts, the centre of culture for the Camden Haven valley in the 1950's.

Down through the years this photograph has become known in the family as "The Reluctant Fairy". It's about time it was shared with a wider audience.