Sydney Views from Hotel and Centre Point Tower
It is a photographers delight here in Sydney and there are so many vantage points to set up camera s.One stand alone blog will not do this great place justice and because of the huge amount of photos taken Sydney blog will be in a few parts This way I can add more pics rather than putting lots on one blog and consequently possiby boring the reader ! In our hotel there is a viewing platform on the 45 th floor and it also boasts a swimming pool !! Needless to say the views are magnificent and a joy to film
Religion and Male celibate Priests and a thankful annulment
Thank God I,m an Atheist !! Missus just got a letter from the religious nuts who decreed her 30 odd yr previous marriage has been anulled !! What a blessing ! ( I personally applaud the decision) Her ex (wait ! how can he be described as her ex? mmmm must ask a Priest )who brought this about apparently found his true love via the internet from the Philippines !! Aint life grand ? and to the MALE Priests who came up with the decision? Get a life and do these decisions please your God? I do hope it costs lots n lots of money for the loser who started this (must have rocks in his head ,oops forgot,this unknown is a geologist!!) Missus is a better person now that she has married PROPERLY for the first time to a MUCH better man and hopefully the perpetrators wife will soon qualify for Australian Citizenship
Sydney the place to be IF your Young !! ( In mind ,we are !)
Ahh Sydney,just a brief history as I will not blog this place in one go as there is so much to see and do 24 hrs a day,everyday !Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales.As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people.comprising a cosmopolitan and international population.The place is teeming with human life,even some pubs open at 9am !! I will restrict the first set of photos around the Hotel (Park Regis) we are at.It is a well run,clean,tidy hotel and the rates are very reasonable also situated Central Sydney with easy access to all forms of transportation.Restaurants,cinemas,shops are all within walking distance and Annie was in heaven ! We moved around and went up the glorious Centre-point Tower and walked a lot around Circular Quay (more on those places next logs!)There are still lots of colonial buildings and churches to visit and Sydney is definitely well worth a visit I make NO apologies for the numerous photo,s
A Birthday and a Wedding Anniversary
My eldest nephew Jamie has been married for 30 yrs and he held a party at his home and it also coincided with his wifes 50 th (sorry Sheila) It was an excellent night and a group performed most of the evening with the occasional song from Jamies eldest daughter Gemma who was with her brand new husband Timmo (nice meeting you) , and she in turn is in the process of establishing a Music School (she has a brilliant voice and has all the credentials for teaching) You can catch her videos at http://gemmaluxton.com/ We met a lot of people who I havent seen for year and the party in the words of the young uns was a blast !! I lasted until 1 am ready to fall over,fortunately Annie doesnt drink (what a top class quality !!) and guided me home safely to my bed !! We had the best night so thanks to Jamie and Sheila for making it so ( Startrek?) Needless to say the bar was free!! We have only one day left in Perth afore we head of to Sydney for a few days.Time is passing SO quickly Im sure the day is cut down to 18 hrs when retired !
A Few Days in Perth Western Australia
On the 16th and a Friday we visited our old local club in Midland,Perth.The RSL and it was great to see so many of our old friends that congregate regularly on a Friday evening and true to form we even won a meat raffle !! Sadly since our last visit a couple of friends that used the club have moved on to the Great Club with free beer in the sky !! ( Im going there too one day !!)
Moving on to more pleasant subjects it was My grandsons birthday (Will) on the next day March 17th and for those that have lived in a desert or such it was also St Patricks day ( being an ex Englishman I could never understand why the English don’t celebrate their national day on the 23rd April,St Georges Day by not declaring a public holiday or as the English call them a Bank Holiday?) However back to the blog.We celebrated my grandsons birthday by having a Circus Clown Party.It turned out to be a great day and all the kids dressed appropriately.Because of all this political correctness rubbish I wont publish too many kids photos ! suffice to say they all had a great days and commemorative pictures will be supplied to their parents All in all the kids were very tired at the end of the Party,we had a nanna nap because of the grown up party later on and will be featured in my next blog
Back home in Hervey Bay
Just had a great week in Perth and Hervey Bay Parties/catching up with old friends/seeing daughter and grandson Pics to follow Thanks to all for making it a great week to remember for mwe and Annie Stayed tuned for more
Perth my Australian birth place
We are paying a very quick visit to Perth my previous home of almost 30 yrs after leaving England.My nephew is having a 30th wedding anniversary and my grandson will be FOUR and we have been invited to his circus birthday party ( I have been warned NOT to dress up as a clown as I might frighten the other kids !!) We will be there Friday and leave Monday for Sydney where we will have a few days break.Me n Annie will visit our old club the RSL in Bellevue to see our old pals for a drink and we will be there around 6.30/7pm ish for a couple of hours Sadly we wont be visiting friends as we wont have the time !! Nice to know we will be busy,even booked into the kindergarten ( by my daughter) to tell the littlies stories and hopefully have some pics taken I love Bollywood and it is also a good friend of mines birthday (60) and her theme will be of the Indian Dance Movies (Sorry we cant make it Lorraine,but have a great night)
Lovely BUT more fun here in Hervey Bay
A little on my new hometown Hervey bay
Just a quick overview on our new area a Population is around 76000 The area has a mild, sub-tropical climate with an average 30 °C (86 °F) in summer and 23 °C (73 °F) in winter. The coast is predominantly affected by the south east trade winds which keep a cool breeze throughout the summer.
Cyclones are a threat at times. In March 2009, Cyclone Hamish threatened the area, however it did not cross the coast. Fraser Island protects Hervey Bay from such extreme weather. Average rainfall for the year is 1,100 millimetres (43 in) with an average of 300 sunny days. Hervey Bay is the whale watching capital of Australia, with humpback whales migrating along the coast between April and October every year. Researchers at the Oceania Project conducted a 14 year study which found the bay was an important social hub for humpback whales.Whale number have increased from about 2,000 in 1992, to around 7,000 in 2005 We live in URANGAN and is a 2 minute drive to the beautiful beaches and BOAT CLUB ( of which we are members) This area offers so much for Seniors inc lawn bowls/tennis/bowling/huge outdoor pools/great promenade dining and of course FISHING in which we are absolute beginners !!(just to mention a few of the excellent facilities we are currently trying ) The Boat Club which offers entertainment most evenings,food is very cheap PLUS for your $12 annual fee a free meal/drink/free raffle tickets to the value of $5 and it is placed in the boat area with fantastic views he RSL club at the opposite end of the town offers similar options as the Boat Club .After living in lovely Perth for nigh on 30 yrs this town is very suitable for me and Annie We are now heading to Perth for the weekend to visit family and a few days in Sydney then back home here
Australia’s Eastern States are having Wet problems while Western Australia Burns !!
Spare a thought for those living in the Easer are being flooded for the second time in a year We relocated here in Hervey Bay from Perth where there are BIG water restrictions due to shortage of water showing how diverse Australia can be These few pictures have been plageurized in order the devastation that has been caused !! Mother nature has organized the spider population to move to higher ground,creating in some area s a blanket of snow !(WEBS) Millions have been re located to safer places ,experts advise these are NOT dangerous !! Seeing them in large numbers is an awesome sight BUT also slightly scary !! We have travelled thru most of these places and met great people .In the face of adversity and massive losses to belongings and even life Australians are very resilient and using their own unique language “She’ll be Right mate” life goes on Our particular area has been saved from the devastation while areas in close proximity (40 Km radius) have been underwater and are noe in the process of the BIG clean up SO for these people Good Luck and keep smiling !!Farm animals have been airlifted to higher ground and the emergency services and volunteers have been tremendous ALL involved deserve recognition for their feats !!
Back home on Hervey Bay passing the time of Day
Since our arrival home a few days ago it has been constantly raining except for ONE full day of sunshine enabling us to have a permanent concrete pad installed for our bus (it started to sink into the ground before the pad !! ) I am currently on hold afore our overseas trip BUT will be taking a trip to Perth to see family and a few days stop over in Sydney.I am able to commence construction of my model railway and heading very strongly to my second childhood ! The housing models I purchased a few years ago in the UK look quite impressive but I have only just gotten around to building them Annie is impressed with my actually finishing some of the models and not going onto other projects She rewarded me by taking me to our local RSL club to have a night out with Queen ! (cover group) and the bottle of Chardonnay lasted me the whole show
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 