Christmas 2008

Christmas is a great time of the year for most people. Besides the religious event, it is a time to reflect on the past year and to keep in touch with old friends. It can be lonely for some but we should all try to make it happy for someone less fortunate. I have included a very short Christmas message above and hope that all viewers have a safe and wonderful end to 2008.

Ladies Hair whatever.

I have never understood the disparity between the sexes when it comes to getting your hair whatever. I did not want to use the word cut here as my daughter informs me she gets her hair "styled." Perhaps that is the difference. I pay $7 to a barber who had a career change some 20 years ago. I admit that this is a bargain. I simply phone him up, book an appointment and we enjoy a beer together while he gets on with the job. A few years ago, my daughter retuned from a 6 month trip around the world. Her last flight was from Sydney to Perth. She wanted to look good so she visited a hair-dresser in Sydney. She was persuaded to part with $230 but after the 8 hour flight to Perth, her hair probably looked the same as before. I only found out this as it was the reason I did not get any pressie on her return. (We always bring back something for each other however small). I reminded her of this recently but she was quite unrependent. It costs me around $350 now I was informed. Well it is the sign of the times. My own barber recently charged me $10 my mistake and I did not make a big deal of it either.

Teenagers

I am not sure that teenagers today are as fortunate as we were at the same age. Sure they have a few more gadgets at their disposal but I am not convinced all the new gadgets around are completely beneficiary to their welfare. My youngest ventured out into the world at 18 years of age ( she could not wait) but by 19 she was asking if she could return to take a course at University. ( She lasted 12 days approximately the last time she tried this!) Simply put, most of this generation are not prepared to go through a bad time in order to achieve a better style of living later on. A friend of hers recently showed me his latest ipod. Only $500 he claimed. It was the word "only" I was most concerned about. It will be interesting to observe how they all cope with the lastest world monetary climate. I hope they can survive and come out better off on the other side.

News or no News? That is the question.

As far as I can recall, my parents never worried much about listening to the news. I did say listening but we actually had a television in 1953! I do not want to be facetious but I have to wonder if we are not better off not watching the latest news or reading about it either. I had the chance when I was younger to live in Spain for a few years. When I arrived there I did not know one word of Spanish and therefore was completely unaware of worldly events. I must confess I was quite happy with the situation. I had my own little problems to solve. Yeah, yeah, I know it is very educational but the way journalism is presented in the modern world is quite often just sensationalism at its worst. I lived in Belfast for a few years during the times when things were not at the best. (I refuse to use the word "troubles" as I believe it is most misleading). I drove home from work one day and was astounded to learn ( from the news!) that a bomb had gone off earlier in that same street. Of course this event was displayed around the world as a major catastraphe and it certainly WAS for a few people but a few hours later it was all cleaned up and everything was back to near normal. So, just for a change, take a week away from the news and see how you feel.

Moon venus jupiter in one frame!

Well it will not happen again in my lifetime. Jupiter ( smaller one) Venus and the moon all in one frame. My daughter phoned to tell me but I had already tried to take a photograph the previous night. Night photography is quite difficult as you can see. I can only assure you it looks a lot more spectacular than these photographs suggest. See my earlier blog on Jupiter and its Galilean moons. Only three were visible (with a telescope) on this particular night (Nov. 30th) as the fourth was hidden by Jupiter.

Andre Rieu

Yes, Andre arrived in Perth and put on quite a performance. Having watched quite a few of his DVD's, I knew what to expect but it was still a wonderful performance despite the difficulties with open air acoustics! Having listened to ( and watched ) orchestras over the years, it was pleasing to see musicians actually enjoy the music they played and also seen to be enjoying themselves. The three tenors in his show are superb and I am certain that all his orchestra are very talented musicians both with their chosen instruments and with other instruments as well. Andre gives you a show full of variety and the three hours was so full of entertainment that it went in a flash. Perhaps 6 encores was a little over-doing it but then it was really part of the show. It was forcast to rain in Perth but amazingly it was very calm and the rain arrived 20 minutes after the show ended. Impeccable timing Andre as always.

THE COOK ISLANDS

The Cook Islands

Yes that is where I have been as the photographs suggest. If you think these photies are like post cards, then I have succeeded. The post cards there were very average to say the least, so I thought I might design some of my own.

If you want to learn more about the islands, then visit the site below. http://www.ck/history.htm

Old Photographs

To look back and find old photographs can be quite memorable especially if you scan them into the computer and use various techniques to restore them ( or even improve them) to their former glory. My wife and I will be 25 years married this year and I dug out the old wedding photographs ( I think the last time we looked at them was 24 years ago) and had a go at revitalising them. The view is from Cranbrook School in Sydney.

Jupiter and its Moons

As of the 3rd July 2008, Jupiter is really visible in the Southern Hemisphere in the East. I was lucky enough to bid for three telescopes on e bay and having been outbid on two was quite concerned when the next day I had won all three! Well to be honest here, one is probably as good as three!

I had observed the Galilean moons of Jupiter before but not all at once. The telescope picks them up with no trouble though not as large as the image of Io above. The larger image is of course Jupiter and they are not to scale. If you are interested, try this site.

http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/stu/jupiter_moons.html

On the 6th July, ( 2008) the Moon, Saturn and Mars should be observed very close together in the Western sky ( Southern Hemisphere). I am sure it is the same for the Northern Hemisphere. Let me know.

Perth

Perth, Western Australia is quite a place to live in. Above is a view of the city from one of the suburbs. From the other side of this situation is a view of the Indian Ocean.....hence the name of the suburb .... "Double View". The climate here is really good for sport. There are numerous golf clubs in the area and most of them can be played on for a modest price. I find it difficult to go on holiday as you can have a really fantastic holiday at home!!!

Webmaster

It is really good to be creative and please (most) people at the same time. I am the webmaster for a tennis club which gives me a little scope for creativity and lets me have a bit of fun as well. http://www.northbeachtennisclub.com.au/
Having played sport ( rugby, basketball and soccer) for most of my life, I have had to take up tennis in recent years. Like golf, it can be a little frustrating but at least in doubles you DO have a partner to blame if things go wrong!

Anzac Day

ANZAC Day marks the anniversary of the ANZAC’s (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps’) landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey on 25 April, 1915. ANZAC Day is commemorated here in Australia by a solemn ceremony that remembers the contribution and sacrifice of soldiers who fought in the trenches at Gallipoli during W W 1. It also shows gratitude for all men and women who have played a part in all wars.

Today the 25th April is Anzac Day and I thought I would share the following thoughts from an unknown author:

"Lest we Forget" is why we gather each Anzac Day to remember, and to keep ON remembering - not dolefully, but thoughtfully; not morbidly, but gratefully; not with grief, but with inspiration - so that the very meaning of what Anzac stands for can create a better sense of comradeship, of decency and tolerance, each of us to the other. So, don't be afraid to live in a way that is good; don't be shy of being kind; don't be afraid of doing an honest duty; don't be embarrassed about being sincere - for these are the attributes we remember most of the men they called Anzacs. Lest we forget (25th April 2008).

My favourite item of news this year was an interview with a Young Turk who was also taking part in the ceremony.

The photograph above is the Memeorial service at dawn in Canberra.

The link below provides some useful material on the subject.

http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.htm

Modern gadgets

I wrote a bit about this before but I was thinking today how lucky many of us are to be born just after the war as far as trying new things are concerned. When I was 10 years old, I was carrying water from the local village ( about half a km ) to our home. Strangely enough we DID have a television but no fridge, no washing machine of any sort and no gadgets that I can think of.
Last night, I recorded a Beatles Medley on my Casio Keyboard using all kinds of functions. THen I transfered this track on to a recording studio and added a few more tracks including a vocal track. I then played this sound track and recorded it onto the computer. At this stage I changed the wav format to mp3 and finally duplicated the file on to a small ipod. I will take this ipod to a gig tomorrow and (hopefully) sing the main part to this backing.
If this means little to you, well I am just trying to show how many gadgets are involved in this minor project.

St. Patrick's Day

Well if you are not sure St. Patrick's Day is on the 17th March. It fell on a Monday this year and apparently some Aussies celebrated it on the previous Friday so as not to interfere with Holy Week. I am fairly certain that if you were born in Ireland, you celebrated it on the 17th March. This year I took a bit of a chance and played at three different venues. I was so worried about such a long day that I packed the night before and set off for the first gig 20 minutes early only to find on my arrival that I had forgotten my amplifer. It was at an old people's home and many of them are impatient. Well I did return only 15 minutes late. The second gig went well and the third went like a dream ...... after I dramatically changed my programand on discovering that not ONE person in the audience was Irish! See Photographs. I did not even sing the St. Patrick's Day song I composed for the occasion. I got to play all eight instruments and then had a quiet Guinness or two. Slainte!

Sweep : The Dog

I confess that I named my daughter's dog after a puppet that was once popular in the U.K. The main puppet was called Sooty ( a tiny bear) and run by Harry Corbett. The other puppet was called Sweep.

This Sweep was infatuated with his mistress and followed her faithfully everywhere. [See my first blog about 3 pages down on this site.... CLICK ON older posts at the bottom of the pages] Yes ...even to bed at night. When she went out in the morning he would sleep on the top of a chair so that he could see when she returned. He was distraught when for six months she went to Melbourne on a uni course. I only wished I had taped his antics shen she returned. Certainly, no human could have given her that type of welcome.

He now eyes suitcases with a great deal of suspicion so when she left home last week for a new abode, he was not entirely surprised. He moped around for a few days so I thought I would give him a quick visit and sleep-over. Now, I did warn him that if he wished to stay, he would have to behave as he does at home. Barking was out. So was pissing on their new carpet and poohing was definitely a NO NO.

Now, I was not sure how many brain cells he had and remembering that he was really besotted with his mistress, I was somewhat confused to find him back with us ( my wife and I) the next morning. He simply did not like the place where there was little food, less water, no grass on which to relieve himself and no dog flap to get out there when he wanted.

So he simply took my advise and barked all night, peed on the carpet and Poohed in two of the bed rooms to be sure to be sure. Well done Sweep.

My father was born in Kells Co. Meath (Ireland). He was the first to own a television in our village ( 1952) and as well as being a teacher of some standing, he loved working in wood. He loved sport but he passed on over 50 years ago! I thought it would be good to have a photograph of him here with my mum. It was taken over 60 years ago but with modern technology, I managed to color it up a bit. I am not sure my mum would wear pink ( sorry Mum!).

Curtin Graduation Perth

I went to the University of Curtin a few days ago to watch my daughter graduate with First Class Honors in Physiotherapy. The whole ceremony was really well done and I was lucky enough to make a video of it. The speeches were short and succinct and the fireworks at the end added a suitable finale. A night to remember with relish for all those present. Congratulations to the graduates and the organisers.

Video of fireworks

Highlight ALL the text on the site below and use it to view a BRIEF video of Fireworks on Australia Day. The music in the background might sound a trifle weird. Aboriginal Music.


http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=-5854386395737096827

AUSTRALIA DAY 26th January

AUSTRALIA DAY FELL on a Saturday this year so in typical aussie fashion we celebrated on Saturday and again on Monday (a public holiday). I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend, who originally came from Italy but had made it BIG with farming cucumbers, to watch the show. He owned a very impressive apartment on the fore shore in Perth and from the 14th floor we had a spectacular view of boats, jets, helicopters etc. strutting their stuff and no doubt using up fuel at a rate of knots that would have lasted 10 years in my small economy car! Thousands of spectators decorated the fore shore, some playing volley ball others cricket but most just enjoying a picnic and the atmosphere. It was warmish ( 34 degrees) but you get used to that sort of temperature in Perth. At 9:00 pm promptly we were treated to a flyover and then a very impressive fireworks display accompanied by music from a local radio station. With lots of flags and Sheilas ( chicks) dressed in Australian colours, it certainly made us feel … well … AUSTRALIANS!

New Year

Happy New Year to all visitors of this site. The New Year is always such an exciting time to wonder what the future might hold. My best friend was married a few weeks before Christmas last year. He built a new house with his wife but she passed away before they could move in together. So don't hold back out there. Go for it! We don't get many second chances in this life.

I went down to Yallingup (near Dunsborough in Western Australia). One of the few beautiful beaches left. See Photographs.