QUICK VIEWS

Firstly, recently from Queensland.

Snow ????

Queensland style !!

and Secondly, a classy new add

..... and not an Aussie "ocker" or swear word in sight

http://www.australia.com/campaigns/nothinglike/au/index.html

 

( Thank heavens !!)

Cheers.

 

AUSTRALIA DAY 2013

Today, the 26th January is Australia Day.
The day we celebrate the landing of the First Fleet, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, bringing a human cargo of convicts, first at Botany Bay then moving to a much better place for a settlement at Port Jackson in 1788.

So the settlement of Australia by white Europeans began.

 

 

Of course the Aboriginal people like to call it "Invasion Day".

 

 

Today for the first time the Aboriginal flag is flying beside the Australian flag from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge not far from where that first settlement began.

 

In Sydney the weather looked good and everyone was in party mood enjoying themselves on Sydney Harbour.

 

 

 

All over the country Citizenship Ceremonies were taking place in City Halls and the same thing was taking place in Canberra led by the Prime Minister. and the Governor General ( both women at the moment )

 

 

Here they are posing with a group of proud new Aussies.

 

 and look, here's actress and comedienne Miriam Margolyes who became an Aussie today too !

 

 

 Up here in Queensland the weather quickly deteriorated as we await the arrival of a large tropical low which has whipped up huge dangerous seas, keeping families out of the water but hardy souls braved the windy conditions to spend the last days of the Summer holidays at the beach

 

 

So, how have we spent Australia Day?

We drove to Wynnum on Moreton Bay about an hour from home and Tony took these photos this morning.




The usually busy foreshore was almost deserted

and the usually calm bay looked angry as the waves lashed the sea wall.

The usually crowded picnic facilities were silent except for the sound of wind and rain

and the busy Port of Brisbane at the mouth of the Brisbane River was barely visible across the bay.

Let's hope all these boats are securely tied up so that they weather tonight's storm without any damage.

 

The BBQ we were going to tonight has been cancelled due to the weather .

The forecast for tonight is up to 300mls of rain!
Yes 300mls! That's 12 inches !

(A place near Gladstone had a metre of rain today  - 36+ inches )

Due to some clever advertising it has become tradition to eat lamb for dinner on Australia Day

 

so it's Roast Lamb for tea !

 

Cheers.

 

MOVIE REVIEW - Reacher

Faced with the prospect of another day of 34 degree heat and still without an airconditioner we opted for the movies again today.

School holidays means lots of kiddie movies and only one remaining film we though might entertain us:

Reacher

Now, I've read a couple of Lee Child's Reacher novels and found them entertaining without becoming a devotee and ploughing through them all.

I know Reacher is a he-man.

6 foot 5 inches tall

ball of muscle

super cool fellow.

I was a bit doubtful that Tom Cruise would fit the bill.

  
Verdict: I thought he did a good job.
I enjoyed the film.
His physical non-resemblance to the Jack Reacher of the books really didn't have any impact on the story for me ( and Tony had never heard of him at all )
and I came home thinking,
 "Well done Tom.
 Clever fellow to grab the role with all those other Reacher books out there waiting to be made into films."

But I've just been reading reviews on the Internet and I see that the film has been widely panned by critics and Reacher fans as well.

Oh well, Tony and  I liked it !

Cheers.

BUSHFIRES

"The 150 merino ewes lie in a twisted clump, their fleece charred black by fire that swept through a paddock at Talmo, outside Yass.

The animals are almost entirely camouflaged by ash, though pink flesh protrudes from the undercarriage of one.

In death, many have rested their heads on each other.

The odd survivors are dragging broken legs, their eyes and ears burnt and mouths foaming.

By the day's end, they'll be shot and a front-end loader will be used to bury them.

A bullet will spare them slow death from starvation, dehydration, infection and organ failure.

 

The NSW fires have claimed 10,000 sheep across the state, according to early estimates.
One farmer has lost 700 sheep from his flock of 3000 and estimates the cost at $100,000.
Then there's the kilometres of fencing that will need to be replaced at his 1500-acre property in the NSW southern tablelands.
Ninety per cent of the property is fire affected, and it could be more than six months before grass regenerates."

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/thousands-of-sheep-and-cattle-lost-or-badly-injured-in-fires/story-e6frg6n6-1226550561812

You won't see many photos like these.
Too gruesome for public consumption I expect.
I was prompted to look for them today after seeing footage taken of the 150 sheep mentioned in the report above.

Who'd be a farmer in Australia?
If it's not bushfires, it's terrible floods.

They are such a strong resilient breed, these farmers. They have my utmost respect.


Of course the stock losses aren't the only animals to suffer.



The native animals are suffering too.

.... and if you'd like to read an amazing story of this family's survival

click here :

Not too cheerful today !

PICNIC DINNER CELEBRATION

As you know yesterday was our Wedding Anniversay.
Many of my teaching friends of a similar age also have anniversaries in January.
It's our long Summer holiday so time for honeymoons and weddings in the days when you fitted your life around the school year.

But I'm never getting married again in January!!!
 (or any other time for that matter!!!)

* We've just had Christmas and New Year !

*It's HOT !!!

* Everyone is in a semi-coma from the heat and too much food.

* Half the restaurants are closed while their owners are on holiday at the beach with everybody else .

* And when it's time for your Anniversary you are in food and celebration overload.

So, how did we celebrate our Anniversary?


A last minute, spur-of-the-moment picnic dinner at that pretty spot overlooking the city that I showed you yesterday!

I packed a BBQ chicken, whipped up a cool, non-fattening salad.
Tony grabbed a chilled bottle of bubbly from the fridge and...



just on sunset we set off.

Good friends Ro and Terry joined us.

There's a lovely area above the cliffs where picnic tables and electric BBQs are dotted under shady trees and we were lucky to find one in a prime position.



We set out our picnic





The evening was cool and the view delightful....

and it improved by the minute as darkness fell...

and the city twinkled below us.

 

 

Fresh air ,
a cool breeze,
chilled champagne,
light Summery salad,
delicious cherries
mixed with friendship and laughter...

what a nice way to spend our Anniversary !

Cheers.

SUNDAY OUTING

Sunday morning hinted at a respite from the heat we have been experiencing so we set off early to visit a market which is held beside what used to be Boggo Road Jail.
This disused jail has been preserved as a part of Brisbane's history





and the markets are set up in the surrounding precinct.




Probably because most families are off at the beach enjoying their Summer holidays there were very few people at the market and not too many stall holders either.



Those that had made the effort were not exactly doing a roaring trade

but their displays were eyecatching

 

and colourful.

I bought a couple of these pretty scarves for my holiday

and this lady soon had some customers

 

Later we went to this pretty spot overlooking the city for a coffee.


 

  The city looked lovely in the strange light that threatening clouds produce
 

 

A  favourite spot to sit and take in the pretty view of our lovely city.

 

Cheers.

 

FORTY-ONE YEARS TODAY

It's forty-one years since these two love birds tied the knot.....
 

and we haaven't changed much !!???

Happy Anniversary Sweetie!