It was my cousin mentioning something about a concert we went as young teenagers (when my family was visiting them in Belfast March 1958) something that started me thinking about someone I hadn’t thought about for a good many years. Lonnie Donegan.
Unlike most of my friends, I really enjoyed his early folky music…before he turned to ‘comedy tunes’. Tunes like ‘Did your chewing gum lose its flavour on the bed post overnight’ 🙁
I was also a fan of trad jazz – yes I knew all the pop singers of the time and the words to their songs but wasn’t that interested in them. They didn’t hold my attention the way folk and jazz (plus big band) did so my friends tended to think that as far as music was concerned I was a bit strange.
When Gordon Lightfoot died early this month I thought (wrongly) didn’t he share the stage with Lonnie Donegan at one time? No, it was Terry Lightfoot – jazz musician with Chris Barber (who LD had played with in early 1950s) .
Age might do weird things to your memory but when Willie Nelson turned 90 late this April just gone I definitely remembered another concert One I (and The Golfer) went to
It was the night The Highwaymen came to town. (Yes you can add country and western to my my list of likes as well😊)
Willie, Waylon, Cash and Kristoffersen – The National Tennis Centre Melbourne. (Now known as Rod Laver Arena) 32 years ago today – May 22 1991
This video isn’t from that concert- but it might just as well have been Filmed March 1990
I know most of you aren’t in this age bracket but here are links that might bring back memories for some of you – and let others know what it was all about – and how it was an inspiration for many who have come afterwards
Over the years I’ve mentioned a certain bench in the local park It’s about half way up a slight rise in the land – about the time you start to think ‘this path is definitely not flat’
The first photo I took of it was way back in 2009. Victoria was still in drought and everything had a dry crisp look to it. The council were just beginning to develop the reserve but because of the lack of rain it took a while. It was also about that time my back condition worsened and I stayed closer to home – so even though I might have wandered round the duck pond I didn’t venture ‘up the hill’ and snap what I jokingly called my bench for quite a while.
2009
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The drought broke, plantings were made, everything greened up – and flourished.
It’s taken aawhile for the changes to be realised (a great deal of the work is done by volunteers) there have been additions and removals, Australian native plants grown, left to their own devices, most have survived, growing strong and sturdy (sometimes a little too rampantly so have been cut back, some died And for some reason it has become almost a tradition that I take a photo when I walk up that way…..which means you are able to see how much the little bare area next to a couple of established gums has changed. Some photos are better than others – (time of day, various cameras, iPads & phones, where I was standing, zooming in or not, plus some cropping) but if you click or use the finger slide method to enlarge you’ll get a fair idea of how it has ‘grown’
2011
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012
~ ~ ~ ~
2013
~ ~ ~ ~
2015
~ ~ ~ ~
2016
~ ~ ~ ~
2017
~ ~ ~ ~
2018
~ ~ ~ ~
2019
~ ~ ~ ~
2020
~ ~ ~ ~
Rain and more rain (thanks to La Niña) Covid restrictions as well as a temperamental back that had me doing other exercises rather than walking stopped me going up there for another couple of years and look what I discovered the other day – a very swish looking new bench. Much more upmarket than the simple wooden ones.
2023
2023
It’s Monday morning again….I’ve been sitting here for a little while with my usual early cuppa in hand thinking about the many changes that are going to be made to the area…..
….catering for changing population wants/needs/attitudes/expectations rather than those happy with more natural surroundings…..…..
Hopefully as long as the green space is still here in our suburb (and it doesn’t get swallowed up by ‘new improvements’) all will be well.
Anyway I must get on – can’t sit here for much longer – changes at my usual pool (urgent repairs/closure) meant the users have had to go elsewhere – I’ll talk about the ‘new’ one some other time. Let’s just say it is different 🙁
And talking of Mondays, it’s the start of the 2nd week of the month, how did that happen? Is anyone else concerned about the speed with which the weeks and months are passing by this year?
Have there been any changes (big, little, horrendous) to your way of life recently?
Nobody believed me when I said I used to cook cakes
Even the ones who were there 😊
One little boy with his older brother – nearly seniors now Oh dear, how did they get to be that old
This hoard of old photos is really bringing back memories- I can see those two little lads sitting there by the back door as if it were yesterday.
I have some friends who dislike looking at old images because they see the years that have passed them by – me, I love them because I think they remind us of that passage of time and how it has defined the person/s we/they are today We are able to look back and see how our life has changed. See what we got up to in those years gone by, how or if we altered our attitudes, losing or gaining friends along the way. Happily or sadly how we ended up where we are today.
Whether they are forgotten experiences (as in the boys not remembering the chocolate cake) or ones remembered fondly (like me remembering the day I cooked the chocolate cake in the tiny kitchen with the boys hanging around to get a ‘lick of the wooden spoon’) there’s no denying they happened.
So yes in my younger days, even if the family think otherwise I did cook chocolate cakes
~ ~ ~ ~
How about you – are there things you’ve done (run marathons, climbed mountains, cooked cakes) that nobody believed you have/could have done??
You know how it is, you’re having a conversation with someone, the topic changes and you’re left behind. That’s when you need a back up memory aka someone to remind you of the things you’ve forgotten
One minute I’m chatting to my next sister about what life in India must have been like during the late 1800s for our Gt Grandparents – John Joseph Patrick Doyle and Jane Muir.
John and Jane Doyle abt 1876
Even with the ‘perks’ a soldier of his rank (colour sgt) would have had, the climate and environment would have been something neither would have encountered before. Likewise for many of the ordinary rank soldiers who would have been going on patrol up country.
Then a short while later we are talking about hop picking. For a few years during the late 1940s/ early 1950s we lived in Cosham Hampshire – Dad had been posted away and Mum was always looking for ways to earn some extra pennies. I could remember during the summer school holidays travelling on an old bus along with what seemed like every local woman and crying baby up Wymering Lane and over the nearby Portsdown Hill to huge fields full of enormous poles with vines hanging down. Then having to carry bags full of ‘stuff’ my mother deemed we needed for the day. Next sister sent me this old photo to remind me of the look and feel of the hop fields.
She remembers so many different things to me, mothers singing in the bus, primus stoves and enamel tea pots, green coloured flasks with corks in the top, door stop sandwiches (no sliced bread). Being allowed to get dirty, running amok amongst the tall hop poles barefooted or in the previous years gutties with the toes cut out…..because our feet had grown and there was no spare cash to buy new ones. You can tell from those memories who was the younger one with less responsibilities!
Lots of laughter because when she mentioned gutties – I thought she said putties and had returned to soldiers in India😊
No, she said, those canvas shoes we wore during the summer. They made your feet sweat and we had to clean them outside with some pastey white stuff. Blanco I told her, made the laces go stiff and the white stuff used to come off, floating in the air like a fine dust
But weren’t they called Sand Shoes? Gym Shoes? Plimsolls?. No, Dad called them Gutties, something else I’d forgotten. That’s what they’re called in Northern Ireland
I showed her the photo of me in my white shoes and seeing the dress she had on she remarked (once again) how she’d never forgotten how she had to wear my old clothes. So I had to remind her about no extra cash and everything being passed on. There don’t seem to be any photos to prove otherwise but we think our little sister also wore the same dress one summer a few years later. Sadly she is no longer with us to say yay or nay🙁
Not the shoes tho’ – they’d had the toes cut out so we could get another summer’s ’round the house or playing in the street’ wear out of them
You know, all these years later I still wear some form of those white canvas shoes during the summer. Perfect for round the house or down the beach.
No need for all that messy white stuff these days – I just chuck them in the washing machine and hang them on the line to dry and if the toes wear through, no worries, they’ll be right for gardening the next year
What memories have you relived recently. ~ ~ ~ ~ I see no wrong in admitting you’ve forgotten something – to me being reminded in some circumstances makes the memory fresh again
Linking to Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse. Where you’ll find lots of life to read about
October 2011 – Far eastern suburbs of Melbourne Foothills of the Dandenong Ranges
Look what was on the front grass when I got home one afternoon And yes, there are times of the year when our grass is an unintentional special mix of dandelions, daisies and various other bits and pieces😊 But that’s not what I want to show you lol
There they are A pair of Crimson Rosellas looking for something tasty to eat
Not too concerned about the car to begin with More interested in the nice dandelion clocks full of seeds – right there in front of them
Almost like statues – looking straight ahead showing off their beautiful red heads and blue speckled wings and back
Uh Oh Looks like I’ve been sprung – mid mouthful as well
The one on the left was intent on lunch and was ready to dive straight in The one closest to the car carried on moving about and munching but still wasn’t sure if he saw anything or not
Still plenty to eat there but they left soon after
Don’t Forget – if you want to see it best……Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge
So my dad was born near Portadown NI in a little place called Corcullentragh Beg – try saying that when you’ve had a few drinks ( or fitting it onto an official form😊
Yes its begun again – its been happening every four years since 1930. World Cup Fever is alive and well – lots of history to be seen here. The Socceroos have one more game to win to qualify for a place in the competition
Kicking that round ball is sort of a passion for some of the males in my family – my Dad and my brother were/are former players and great fans, one of my Irish cousins had a chequered career as NI international playing for Manchester United/Swindon Town in the 1970’s, after training with Sheffield United followed by a sports degree (Culver Stockton) a nephew (bro’s son) is now associated with a Sports Academy here in Melbourne plus our eldest son is a huge fan of Ipswich (TFC). He was over 11 when we migrated to Australia from England so by then the soccer/football bug was well and truly entrenched into his mindset.
The Golfer isn’t as fanatical these days as he has been. I clearly remember 1966 – we were living in Singapore at the time – and their TV broadcasts were mainly in Chinese but we just ‘had’ to hire one so he could watch as many of that years world cup games as possible!!
… … … …
My sister Bobby is the keeper of all Mum and Dad’s bits and pieces – and recently unearthed an old photo of Dad (bottom right) during his soccer (football) playing days in Belfast. After getting some online help we discovered that Windsor Star (a Linfield youth team) were second division champions April 1938 – hence the shield and whopping great silver cup! Dad would have turned 20 in June that year and joined the RAF in the August – staying on in service after the war ended, never returning to live in Belfast, just as a visitor.
I think my dislike of the game started when I was quite young – Dad did ‘the pools’ each week, putting a cross in some of the boxes and paying his money to the man who came round door to door on a Thursday.
(A football pool, often collectively referred to as “the pools”, is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of top-level association football matches set to take place in the coming week) source
Come 5pm on a Saturday afternoon during the season the radio would go on and BBC Sports Report would start and then the Classified Football Results would be broadcast.
I can still remember hearing the man who read out those results going on and on – from League Division One all the way through the minor leagues and Scottish leagues as well. Weird and wonderful team names, places you’d never heard of but if they had a football team of note the score from their game for that week got a mention.
To make sure he heard all the results and was able to mark them off correctly in the chart printed in the paper and then check his pools to see if we were going to become millionaires Dad needed complete silence in the room – Ha Ha – not going to happen when Catherine is around lol
I even loathed the music that was played at the beginning and each Saturday when I heard it I promised myself I would not speak but failed miserably each time and boy, did my Dad have a temper. As Bobby said recently, his ”shut ya bake” and the sheer volume it was yelled at, snapped us to attention and silence followed by the scurrying of feet out of the room
Football is a winter sport and winter in England can be cold and back in the 1950’s we only had a coal fire in the living room of our house – bedrooms were not heated and I was sent to that freezing bedroom more times than I like to remember 😟
Its only recently when some friends were talking about associating music with feelings that I thought about trying to locate that music on the Internet. It seems that the cause of all my worries is a march called ‘Out of the Blue’ composed by Hubert Bath.
… … … …
Early Monday morning, cup of tea in hand and I’m testing myself by playing this version – listening to it has me wondering how a lively march like that could bring back such bad feelings.
I have no idea – but even hearing it again now makes me feel sick inside. Excuse me – I must leave the room
Do any of you have such reactions to musical tunes…or is it just me? … … … …
Corinne is back with Monday Musings – come see what she is talking about this week
I’ve always been of the opinion we must open our eyes and ears to everything ‘Read mark listen and learn’ was drummed into me from a young age
And where sport and the arts were concerned it was – “Open your eyes” “Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean there’s no merit to it”
So back in the 1970s my oldest children were the ones who introduced me to Queen. I/me a lover of ‘50s rock and roll plus many other forms of music, was well into my 30s when Bohemian Rhapsody was released. I loved it….and many others that followed!
It always seemed a very pretentious thing to do. Photograph your handiwork I would knit and sew – then gift without another thought about what I’d given. Just a hope the person would like it.
Then this photo was forwarded to me. Taken at a friend’s granddaughter’s christening tea. Me – baby Tamika – and the embroidered wool blanket – my gift to the newborn. The thank you card mentioned having a pictorial record of the love I’d put into making something. So from then on that’s what I’ve done.
I can assure you there’s lots more plus the notes I’ve kept about the type of wool used, colour, brand and how much it weighed when finished. It’s handy to have if you’ve got odd balls lying around…..gives you some idea on what to do with the stash – the one conveniently ’tucked away’ in various places inside as well as outside the house 😊
Apart from The Golfer’s sampler (still in progress – it didn’t get finished for Christmas) I’ve given up on cross stitch. These two nearly cost me my sanity!
Which brings me to this – a ’seemed like a good idea at the time’ embroidered wool blanket – as the intended baby turned out to be a boy another gift had to be given – so it’s been in hiding for a few years now.
When finished I could gift it to a friend’s expected great granddaughter – or I could gift it unfinished, along with the instructions and materials to the same friend’s granddaughter……the expectant mother…a very ‘crafty’ young woman….who has shown interest in the project and would willingly finish it. Somehow I think the second option is what will happen – I’m happy looking back at this photo knowing I sewed a lot of love into my part of it ❤️❤️
How about you? I know many of us keep notes on books read but do you keep them on gifts given…..handmade or otherwise?
I’m not sure what the question was or even if there was an answer
These turned up in a box out in the garage
I remember them as interesting reads at a time when I needed a bit of encouragement
Thinking back, I wasn’t a sheep, following along with everyone else, but strangely was ambitious yet didn’t want to be ’the big boss’ – what I was really interested in was what ’the big boss’ thought and how they might have gone about things.
At that time the words ’self improvement’ never entered my mind – what these books (and more) gave me (because they were always being mentioned in the staff room) was a small insight into how and why some of my colleagues and ’superiors’ thought (and acted) in those days.
I’m still cross we lent the ever popular Think and Grow Rich to a ’friend’ never to see it again yet still remember Hill’s first principle of success being Desire.
Anyway that was a long time ago now and guess what……Of all the advice I gleaned at the time …Dress Well and Be Nice …is what I remember the most 😊
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I had a week off from the blog, not writing or reading or answering comments……because ’The Back’ ‘flared up’ and has been a problem again I’ve been indulging in a self pity party – not wanting to talk to anyone, feeling angry (it’s not fair!) knowing tears don’t solve anything yet wallowing in misery. Which has got to stop!
I feel another quiet week coming up I think. A warm sunny one I hope It’ll soon be breakfast time – time for another cup of tea…..will it be cereal, toast and marmalade this morning or porridge with cinnamon sugar and a handful of sultanas? Then afterwards maybe I’ll dip into those books again and refresh my memory on how to Think Big – Win Friends – Look Good – Read Body Language – and Communicate Well With Everyone 😊
Curious to know if anyone else read these or any similar books and did you find them useful at the time? As some of them are still in print people must think the ideas haven’t dated and are still be relevant to life in the 21st century.
I can’t actually remember when I learnt to knit, I know it was well before I turned 10 because I have memories of knitted scarves my class in primary school made ‘for the poor’….as for who taught me, well even though I wrote about it HERE it’s still a mystery. Growing up after the war I don’t remember there being much shop bought clothing in our house, Mum sewed most of our clothes and we knit. I was about 15 when this was taken and both my little brother’s jumper and the striped one I’m wearing kept me busy the summer before.
The other day Tiggers Honey aka F remarked about even knitting (something I don’t often give much thought to ) – I usually just go through the motions and piece together the end result 😊
Actually I’m of the opinion that the tension and final appearance have a lot to do with the wool/yarn that’s used. I’ve two little cardigans on the go at the moment, both using acrylic but one is a more expensive line which is firmer but maybe not as soft as the other. They are slightly different designs, both have the same pattern (k5 – p1) yet I have to say I prefer the look of the green knitting but definitely like the feel of the pink more than the other
Anyway back to my ‘when did you learn, who taught you, how were you taught’…… all those thoughts came to mind when a little meme was forwarded to me last week. I’ve never heard the process of making a stitch referred to in this supposedly humorous way – has anyone else?
Call me old fashioned but somehow I think my words of encouragement (the same ones used by my Dad) ~ needle in – wool round- pull through- slip off ~ sound a lot nicer 😊. Which leads me to – how was the process of knitting explained to you?
We had cold and wet and gale force wind in copious quantities last week in Melbourne, we also had days with no power after a ‘ginormous’ storm went through but just before all that happened I did a bit of indoor ‘ techie type’ clutter clearing’…… this time it was sorting out old photo folders (again) I had a little smile when I came across these two …..I’d read somewhere about taking photos as reminders of items/objects you’ve enjoyed but no longer want/need So during a previous ‘clearing out’ blitz, that’s just what I did. Took photos of these two very large almost brand new mugs that had spent a lot of unused time in the cupboard….. just before I passed them onto someone else 😊
I’ll keep the photos a while longer – not to remember the mugs – but as a memory of the recently departed friend who gave them to me.
In the cold of the very early morning I’m enjoying my first cup of tea and thinking of my ‘darling B’ ……she who lived such a gentle life, and left this world in a gentle sort of way. Settling down for the night, not waking in the morning – just as she would have liked. Quietly peacefully at ease.
She had many friends who appreciated the quiet peaceful life she led, her ‘going away party’ was small and simple, limited by restrictions….. but there’s another ‘friends as well as family’ gathering being planned for later….where she’ll be the centre of attention as we celebrate her life 😊❤️
Denyse is the host of Life this week – do pop over because you never know who you’ll see there. Linking to Senior Salon – hosted by Esme As the old advertising slogan goes:- You’ll never never know If you never never go!
ps – B even suggested the people I could pass the mugs on to. pps – I live in the foothills of The Dandenongs. This is what went through
Now I don’t normally do ‘picture posts’ two days in a row But that’s the best excuse ever to ‘replay’ and enjoy some photos from 2014 trip 😊
Where we saw many families enjoying the fresh air. Going about their business as normal
As well as those relaxing and enjoying grassy areas in ‘parks and gardens’
There were quiet solitary onlookers content to watch the world go by
As well as those who stood on guard
Or waited patiently
Or who had found comfort in being ‘close to you’
But the ones I liked best were the ones who looked you right in the eye and said “we own this place – respect us and it” The ancient city of Ephesus
So many cats with no obvious home – catch, desex and release was often spoken about but we sometimes wondered if it actually did happen. This little one can tell you it does
(These are just a few – we saw many many more during that overseas trip) All photos will enlarge with a click.
Are there flowers in your life that are reminders of others People you have known during your life or have heard stories about
My mother grew Sweet Peas No matter where we lived she would always find a place to grow them My sister (who lived close to her) told me she was still growing them the summer she had her first stroke BUT Try as I may and have often done so I cannot get them to grow No idea why, but they shrivel up and die Autumn sowing or Spring planting doesn’t matter which They just do not thrive
My Dad had a favourite that he grew in most of our gardens. His gardening was usually confined to veggies but there was one small plant he always had growing somewhere in the garden Said it reminded him of his Mum – our Granny Over the years both my sisters have grown it as well. It’s a real sentimental favourite with us.
That bank that runs alongside our front drive is a difficult spot and I’ve lost count of the number of plants been tried there The Golfer cleared more dead and dying out a few years ago and I stuck some Erigeron – Seaside Daisy – around about here and there. Cuttings of Arctosis and Trailing Lantana (not a weed here in Victoria) thrived there as well as a ground cover Geranium (Cranesbill)
2009
Tucked away in one little corner where none of those others seemed to grow is where I put a small pot of Dad’s favourite
The smallest flowering plant in my garden and one of the most loved Snow in Summer – Cerastium tomentosum. Over the next few summers it took over over that corner
I loved it – that little plant with soft grey foliage and tiny white flowers
Then my back took control of my life. As well as me that little front garden really suffered Because I couldn’t get down to keep things in order (trim/ cut back/weed) it really got out of hand so for the time being the slope has been returned to grass
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I’m just finishing off my first early morning cup of tea and thinking that as ‘the back’ is behaving itself quite well at the moment maybe I’ll have a go at redoing that slope. Once Victoria has had its usual bucket load of Winter rains there’s no telling what might come about in Spring It’s possible I’ll learn the secrets to growing Sweet Peas But somehow I think that where that’s concerned, working this (discovered in the garage in a box of ‘might do one day’ things) cross stitch kit will be a better bet
Pop over to Denyse’s blog to see the latest edition of Life this week Linking to #MondayMusings hosted by Corrine at Everyday Gyaan
A long time ago (like back in the 1970/80s ) we’d gather the children together towards the end of November to take what we called our end of year breakup photo. It was a way of knowing there was at least one record of them all together each year…..copies were made and one went into each of the grandparents Christmas cards so they could see how much they’d grown during the year. (We were here in Melbourne- they were up there in the cold and often snowy UK). Anyway as is the norm someone would try to be funny….rabbit ears, tongues out, strange faces….
We did the same when grandchildren came along and as usual there’d be one who made a fuss. Or tried the tricks their parents did like little ‘bug eyed boy’
I was beginning to think it was a rerun of those days the other week trying to get a photograph of some cardigans before closing the ‘charity box’. The office had reopened so spent time checking seams (and buttons) getting things ready to send off. Strange I know but I do like to have a record of how most turn out, especially those engineered with pencil & paper (plus a few terse words) using a design from one pattern and sizing from another. There’s the red one with the pockets finally finished, the grey cable has been done before, the royal blue is simply stocking stitch with a purl row on the right side every six rows (hard to see in that light) while the denim blue on the end was a definite pen/paper add /subtract job.
And just like with the children once you get them together they decided to have fun. Twisting this way and that, clothing disheveled, not looking at the camera, one even turned it’s back on me – lol I can assure you the rib band on the denim doesn’t droop and hang down like that but lies flat and even.
And for your…..’ ahhh aren’t they sweet’ moment…….here are some for the baby 12 month packs. Simple raglan mix and match – white always goes well with another soft colour which is good because it’s a great way to use up some half balls. And look….. the green/white striped one came good in the end.
It isn’t only ‘big kids’ who get to climb trees
So now that all of those cardigans plus quite a few more newborn size have finally made their way to Knit one Give one aka KOGO the time has come to concentrate on finishing some of the children’s jumpers on the go. And after that…..well take a look at this delightful photo of my (sadly late) blond curly haired little sister Patsy (aged about 3) forwarded to me a couple of weeks ago…….maybe just maybe, there might be some woolies coming up featuring little bunny rabbits 💕
It’s time for another cup of tea and a think about it.
I’ve just had an (awful) thought…each of those children is now in their 50s and each of those grandchildren is in their 20s……so what does that make me???
Joining Denyse for the latest edition of Life this week – pop over and see how others fared. Linking to #MondayMusings hosted by Corrine at Everyday Gyaan
Earlier in the year I read a book that definitely took my fancy.
The House between Tides…..Sarah Maine. Her debut novel and one I’d definitely recommend. Set in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides it’s centred around an old family home, a ‘crumbling mansion’ on an island that is only reached during low tides. Two timelines a century apart, two stories about the earlier inhabitants and the ‘last in the line’ who has come to explore the possibility of renovating and restoring the house to its earlier state only to discover it’s not as easy as she thought. Tucked into the storyline of an artist and his young wife, house parties, wildlife colonies, forbidden love, belligerent crofters, property rights plus a mysterious dead body are descriptions of sights and sounds of the island which catch you by surprise “The sand steamed slightly as the re-emergent sun turned the shallow pools into ripples of quicksilver” so much so that they have you turning back the page to reread and savour again BUT it was the access to the house at low tide that interested me.
Now most of you know that whenever possible we ‘winter in Queensland’ – Far North Queensland…… at a place called Bowen. Just offshore from Bowen, well within sight of the town is a small island, an island with a lighthouse – one of Queensland’s oldest!
A couple of times during winter the day time tides are low enough for a very special event – Bowen’s Walk to the Lighthouse. Read all about it HERE. It has become a well organised community event, a yearly fixture on the town’s calendar enjoyed by locals as well as many of the seasonal visitors.
The start is always at Dalrymple Point – where you can wander down and begin the trek across the sandbar or just stand around, explore the foreshore and watch the others enjoying the experience. Whichever you choose don’t forget the coral can be rough on feet so shoes of some sort are needed….not your best Sunday ones because your feet are going to get wet at some point .
What do they do once the walkers have reached the island – wander round the base of the hill, scramble up the hill to enjoy the view, take in their surroundings and explore the lighthouse!
Turning around to come back to the mainland you meet up with streams of walkers young and old all coming the other way. The walk takes about 2 hrs – a bit more if you stop along the way You never know who you might meet and what you might see
These giant Red Starfish are a favourite find for those who look around and explore the shallows. But then they are not hard to find as they are there for all to see when the sea level drops
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Some years we’d try to visit other parts of Queensland spend time in places we’d normally just pass by on our 4 day drive north from home or plan an actual road trip to places unseen before …off the beaten track where you never know what’s round the corner
Places you decide ‘you must go to’ ones to get to – to explore – to appreciate- before it’s too late Like the trip we took in 2012
I know this isn’t my usual ‘words only’ Monday Musings post but for me it fits in perfectly with the suggested topic for Life this Week. EXPLORE. In some ways this pandemic is reminding us of roads previously travelled and places previously explored – I think it’s nearly time to start thinking about finding new ones. Given the chance what are you up for next?
Burmese kittens are shorthaired and come in solid colours – Balinese (Longhaired Siamese) are white with coloured ‘points’
Anna (Pennylane Bali Dancer) was a bluepoint Balinese, a lovely gentle soul. Sitting here quietly surrounded by some of her kittens and also some Burmese ones she seems to have a puzzled look on her face seemingly saying :-
Some of these are the wrong colour – wheres their Mother?
Belle (Brookwood Manet’s Delight) was a typical brown Burmese. Soft and cuddly, devoted to me ( not interested in The Golfer) to the point of following me around even sitting outside the toilet door (or inside if she was fast enough). Once she ‘got the hang of it’ she was a wonderful mother cat – although I think she was a bit overwhelmed by her first litter.
Her kittens only ever had two speeds – fast and hectic or zonked out and asleep. They kept her (and me) on the go and as a protective ‘first time mum’ she often seemed to have a questioning look on her face as if asking me:-
Is it always like this?
Then there were other days with other litters when these fit and healthy, housetrained, fully vaccinated, fun loving pets would all sit together and pose like pros 😊
Boisterous – yes….. A handful- never!
Linking to Aww Mondays hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus
Yes, I’ve been home alone for the long weekend, the weekend of various Grand Final Football matches as well as various international matches. and the weekend the clocks do their annual ‘fall forward’ routine. The Golfer is interstate for a volunteer comittment and I have been enjoying the freedom of being able to do what I like when I like with no questions asked lol
Mostly it’s been time spent outside enjoying some great Spring weather but also thinking and wondering about things. Like how to get up and change the time on the wall clock and that mystery of mystery, how to change the time on the microwave – or how to cut off a tree branch that’s been bothering me and needs someone with a bit more muscle to do it – or how do I finish (without going to the shops) a small knitted cardigan with only one needle of the only set I had in that size (having sat on and broken the other plastic one) 😦
Wondering why we don’t wear our comfy well worn rubber thongs/flip flops to the shops – I always think of them as ‘house/garden/beach shoes’ and that’s where they should stay
Wondering why this Australian King Parrot who turned up early one recent morning chose to spend time on the roof beam instead of the nearby trees
More Monday Musings and Monday Memories
Also wondering why I can’t get the words to a song out of my mind.
There Must Be A Way sung by Joni James 1959
Words and Music by ~ Sammy Gallop, David Saxon and Robert Cook
Back in 1959 when it was re-released in the UK (Joni James version) I was a heartbroken 16yr old because I’d been ‘dumped’ by a really nice boy and I ‘related’ to every word of the lyrics. That memory popped into my mind recently when listening to a radio discussion on ‘young people and their love lives’ and reappeared the other day when I was wandering about telling myself ‘ there must be a way’ to do that branch 🙂
Enjoy and reminisce over those teenage years with me
There must be a way to help me forget that we’re through
There must be a way to stop me from dreamin’ of you
There must be a star in the skies that isn’t reflecting your eyes
I just don’t know how to disguise how much I miss you
There must be a song that doesn’t remind me of you
There must be a kiss that’ll thrill me like yours used to do
I look for a way to be happy, happy with somebody new
Oh, there must be a way but I can’t find a way without you
There must be a way to help me forget that we’re through
There must be song that doesn’t remind me of you
I look for a way to be happy, happy with somebody new
Oh there must be a way but I can’t find the way without you
How’s your Monday going? Hope it’s a good one for you when it arrives.
I also hope to do some ‘visiting’ this week, see you soon.
Still Waters 