ANZAC 100th Tribute by Me n Annie
Paul with the JEEP he supplied 
Barry
The Parade was attended by a large crowd and reports in this 100th year attendances thru out Australia were at record numbers.It was heart warming to see so many kids attending on their usually day off ( the 25 th fell on a Saturday this year ,BUT if the 25th falls on a week day a Public Holiday is declared,maybe something the British should do?) OlsdWar vehicles were also brought out for this day and looked rather splendid in their Army colours.My radio colleagues were in attendance with Paul providing his rebuilt Jeep and other Radio friend Barry,both were wearing medals
On Thursday last we were privileged to attend the memorial service at Masters Lodge where Annie and myself have volunteered our services and made a lot of friends (Sadly on this day a 97 yr old chum passed away , his war injury was sustained during WW2 ,his leg being shot by a warplane ! He will be sadly missed, a true gentleman to the end R.I.P Sid) The remaining Diggers & Sailors presented wreaths on the decorated tabled that was surrounded by pictures taken 100 yrs ago at Gallipoli.The residents were treated to a show by 3 very competent musicians (Piano,Guitar and Saxophone) Singing lots of the old (cheery) songs which the other guests sang along to and thoroughly enjoyed as I did
TV Stations thru out the Day were televising all Gallipoli events during the day and Patriotism was at its very best .TWO up was a very (and illegal still to this day) popular gambling game BUT authorities turn a “Blind Eye” to this wonderful ( but can be costly) back street game of chance on every April the 25 th (It is now become obligatory for the game to be played on this day and is now part of the Australian history and tradition)
Thanks to Wikipedia Two-up is a traditional Australian gambling game, involving a designated “spinner” throwing two coins or pennies into the air. Players gamble on whether the coins will fall with both heads (obverse) up, both tails (reverse) up, or with one coin a head, and one a tail (known as “odds”). It is traditionally played on ANZAC Day in pubs and clubs throughout Australia, in part to mark a shared experience with diggers through the ages.The game is traditionally played with pennies– their weight, size, and surface design make them ideal for the game. Weight and size make them stable on the “kip” and easy to spin in the air. Decimal coins are generally considered to be too small and light and they don’t fly so well. The design of pre-1939 pennies had the sovereign’s head on the obverse (front) and the reverse was totally covered in writing making the result very easy and quick to see. Pennies can often be observed being used at games on Anzac Day, as they are brought out specifically for this purpose each year.
THANK YOU ALL THE MEN &WOMEN WHO HAVE MADE AUSTRALIA A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE IN
My Tribute to Leonard Nimoy at the Brisbane Anime Exhibition
At the recent Anime Exhibition/Show beginning of March I had a good chance to show my Spock greeting hand formation (Four fingers on one hand dived into two split in the middle forming a “V” or as known to Star Trek followers “Trekkies” a Vulcan way of greeting)
Leonard Simon Nimoy (March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, film director, photographer, author, poet, singer and songwriter. He was known for his role as Mr. Spock of the Star Trek franchise.Nimoy began his career in his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances through the 1950s, as well as playing the title role in Kid Monk Baroni. Foreshadowing his fame as a semi-alien, he played Narab, one of three Martian invaders in the 1952 movie serial Zombies of the Stratosphere. In 1965, he made his first appearance in the rejected Star Trek pilot “The Cage“, and went on to play the character of Spock until 1969, followed by eight feature films and guest slots in the various spin-off series. The character has had a significant cultural impact and garnered Nimoy three Emmy Award nominations; TV Guide named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters. After the original Star Trek series, Nimoy starred in Mission: Impossible for two seasons, hosted the documentary series In Search of…, narrated Civilization IV, and made several well-received stage appearances. He also had a recurring role in the science fiction series Fringe. Nimoy’s fame as Spock was such that both of his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of sharing his existence with the character. Nimoy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
TO ALL YOU AVID TREKKIE FANS OUT THERE,IN THE IMMORTAL WORDS OF SPOCK
LIVE LONG AND PROSPER !! R.I.P
Brisbane Anime 2015 and a GREAT day out
During our brief stay in Brisbane we went to South Bank which is Brisbane’s premier lifestyle and cultural destination. Located on the southern banks of the Brisbane River, its 17 hectares of lush parklands, world-class eateries, stunning river views and hundreds of delightful events all year round make it the perfect place to relax and unwind. The man-made beach at Brisbane’s South Bank features a crystal lagoon with enough water to fill five Olympic-size swimming pools, clean white beaches and subtropical trees and exotic plants.Chlorinated fresh water is recirculated every six hours at up to 125 litres per second. The water is pumped through two large sand filters and chemically treated before being returned back to the beach. The 4000 cubic metres of sand comes from Rous Channel in Moreton Bay and 70 tonnes is added each year to the South Bank Beach.Lifeguards patrol South Bank Beach 365 days a year and during summer (December to February) from 7am to midnight daily.Lawns and barbecue facilities around South Bank Beach are popular for picnics. It was amongst these settings that we went to the Anime (Japanese cartoons I think?) Festival.Kids of all ages 0 to 100 male and female were encourages to dress up for the huge stage parade to display their skills at dress-ups. We.We were amazed at the genuine friendship these guys offered (even to us oldies!) Music played from the stage was very loud (my kinda music) and stereophonic psychedelic type and it suited the general ambiance of the show.The day was very exciting and we actually made friends with a couple of the kids.All in all it was a great day on this inaugural event .IF it happens again next year and I,m sure it will and you are in the Pay a visit,you won,t be disappointed and best of all? its FREE !!
Brisbane in March and a Gay Pub and friends in Paradise
I had cause to visit my heart specialist at Brisbane’s Royal Women s Hospital so we decided to stay for a few days and have some fun.After the almost 4 hour drive from our home in Hervey Bay we settled into our rented apartment for the next 3 days in Spring Hill appropriately the Apartment No is the same as my age 69! Naturally the first question I posed was “where is the nearest Pub” reply being “There,s one across the Road,but its always shut? and there is a Gay Pub a wee bit further on,but we don,t go in there as its full of erm you know? Gay people” SO that night we headed to the “Gay” pub and consequently spent the next 2 nights in there.Friday was very busy and we stayed in the “games” room.Saturday was brilliant..had a couple of drinks int he games room then on to the Cabaret room where drag artistes were strutting their stuff and miming to various catchy tunes.Although we didn,t dine there,the food looked magnificent and prices were very reasonable.Next into the cellar bar for a bit of Karaoke and some of the performers were good enough to be on a professional stage ,although one bearded bloke looked a little out of place (really?) with his low cut,very old fashioned flowery frock,non matching shoes,one flat t,other high heeled and matching sox i.e one long bright red and t,other short black and I have to confess,he couldn,t sing either.The compere was a stocky guy and wearing 60,s style Flower Power smocks and hairbands and of course the obligatory dark glasses (colloquially called shades!) On the Saturday night we were approached by the RAINBOW volunteers and to stop me n Annie spreading STD,s ( look it up) we were given some condoms!! we took it all in good fun and last days in that pub can only be described as interesting FUN,fancy a look? go here http://www.sportsmanhotel.com.au/ Annie has been kind enough to say I can buy an Apple all in one (around $3000) and I spent a lot of time in the Apple shop (as I did in Perth) the staff in those shops are brilliant and offer all sorts of advice,free seminars,workshops are available,BUT i cannot justify spending all that money ,After lots of humming ans arring (is that right?) I waited until I got home and have opted for LENOVO all in one and altho I have heard lots of bad press re Windows 8.1 its not actually bad PLUS I saved around $2100 !! and very pleased with the machine.We left the apartment and headed a further 100 kms South to the Gold Coast to visit and stay the night with friends we met on our cruise last year and when we arrived? the scenery was breath taking,high on what can only be described as a mountain top.Over looking the great green tree ridden scenery is the main attraction,a swimming pool literally over hanging over the top of the landscape that was a loooong way below us We stayed the night.chatted about how we could save the planet,had a few drinks AND in the morning we departed after a HUGE Pommie breakfast supplied by our lovely host June & her husband Alan.The whole weekend was magical with more on my next blog re ANIME exhibition and to make the weekend more special the Surgeon who I originally went to see has declared me fit and I no longer have to travel to Brisbane for further tests !! (but need to keep taking the pills!)
AND still more Perth and our Visit
We are continuing to have fun ( and lots of alcohol !) We have babysat over 2 weekends and my knowledge now of Thomas the Tank Engine in brilliant !! Sadly Coca Cola was spilt on me MacBook and it had to go for repair which wasn,t too bad in price altho we had to ring up for an appointment with Apple for a diagnosis !! The Apple shop in Perth is incredible and always very busy (same in Brisbane) I have never seen so many assistants in one shop and all very helpful,they even have “inhouse” learning which is available to everyone and of course the WiFi is FREE !!It only took a couple of days to repair and all is well now.We celebrated Australia Day ( a Public Holiday here and incredibly the English,who have St Andrews Day do NOT celebrate the patriotism that is VERY evident here) We visites a suburban park where all sorts of celebrations were going on including the very famous Ozzie BBQ,Bouncy Castles an animal touch farm,Sider Man and much more to keep families happy.Annie and me met up with a couple of workmates from the past (Peter and Dianna) for lunch and reminisced of days gone by.
Will started his new school and looked very dashing in his new Uniform.With Anns daughter we visited a Bingo Club (Annie won $20,that she shared with her daughter but NOT me!!) Amazingly across the table sat some friends from 20 yrs ago and of course more reminiscing was the go.The time has gone SO quickly even stopped and bought a set of darts on the way to the Airport.Flight home (as with the flight in) was terrific gaining the exit seats both ways ,the plane arrived in Brisbane around 1 am and we consequently drove the 300kms home in the dark ending a brilliant 3 weeks and thanks to all those who helped make it so nice
Day 2 Perth
We got out of our pitts around 7 am and after a few cuppa,s we headed off to Joondaloop and ventured into OptiGolf where we played a simulated game of Golf on a very large indoor screen paying $8 each for the privaledge for 30 minutes and never getting past the first hole!! A young female street singer paused to have her picture taken with me as did the facepainter who also made balloon characters and making me a pink balloon bracelet,great fun.7pm and we joined by Nephew Jamie and his wife Sheila in the Woodvale Tavern who consequently presented me with a beer stein fitted with an air horn ( great for alerting the wife when my beer was getting low !) Michella & her friend Deb with Debs kids Kian & Cassie joined us for a meal .Radio 6IX were doing their Saturday Night Show live in the pub,I had some lovely chats with the DJs Fiona and Troy who in turn gave me a brief explanation on how the session works.Annie was pleased I had a few dances with her as I did with the youngster Cassie (geez I was tired out!) It was great to catch up and have a boozy evening that ended around midnight !!
Start of our Journey to Perth 16th January 2015
We set off 1 minute past midnight and travelled the 300 plus kms without incident stopping only for a quick brew (tea) and to re fuel . Brisbane Airport was very busy,sel service being the “new way”.Ann had great difficulty typing our reservations and consequently failed going thru baggage checkin ( she triggered the alarm of going thru security due to metal laceholes in her shoes!she was also tested for illegal substances ( random check) The framed picture she was carrying was too large to take on board and she was surcharged $40 !!My turn next and whilst Annie was on a toilet break I managed to spill cup full of coffee over table and floor,a lovely young lady sat on the next table helped me clean up.Bonus to come was that we were sat in the emergency exit seats with plent of legroom,excellent window views and a very nice hostess sharing our space.Views from the window were magnificent that gave scenery involving Red deserts criss crossed with dirt tracks mingled with very white dried up salt lake with not a sign of any life .At Perth airport after a fairly comfortable flight we were me by my daughter Jayne and Grandson Will.After settling in Annies daughter Michelle came to say hello with her friend Deb,the BBQ meal included Kangaroo meatballs and they were very tasty too ! all washed down with copious amounts of alcohol followed by a good nights sleep
s
Perth Here We Come
Annie,s flaffin around doing last minute packing (again) and we are keeping ourselves busy for the upcoming trip and the flight is over 4500 kms ! taking around 6 hours with Qantas ! This day will be busy getting out of bed by 10 am and more last minute packing ( altho Annie will find more as the day goes on !) I have been starving myself in order that the seat (plane) belt will fit without an extension ( such is life for us oldies and its bloody hard at 70 dieting !) First port of call will be at a fast food outlet ( my first this year) followed by a bi monthly meeting of our local Radio Station FraserCoastFM after which I will do my show “Geoff’s Happy Hours” from 9pm until Midnight ( my pal Paul will be sitting in for me whilst I am away )THEN of we go by road to Brisbane Airport around 300 kms away.Flights from Hervey Bay are frequent BUT can be expensive and the wait between flights can be very long and at $145 for undercover,secure parking for 3 weeks we will take our car for convenience..Now it is time for me to close my beloved computer down (our house minders are using their own) and make tracks,,See you all in my home town (since 1982) tomorrow…..
Welcome BBQ at my daughters ( where we will stay ) and THIS Saturday will be at the Woodvale Tavern ( 143 Trappers Drive Woodvale Perth 6026)
and hopefully over next week or so maybe a quick visit to our old RSL Club in Bellevue
Round & About in Urangan Hervey Bay in the First week of the New Year
The weather is still good with the occasional heavy downpour that is very useful in filling my 5000 litre water tank. People are still in the Festive mood here even tho the 12 th day of Xmas has gone.This Blog was started 6th Jan which also celebrates my eldest sons 50 th birthday !!
Geoffrey Albert 50 today..Grandaughter Lauren and Grandson Matthew celebrate with their dad
There are still lots of activities for both young & old and I was particularly impressed with the windsurfers with one young fella explaining ins and outs saying its suitable for any age !! He made it a very interesting topic.Markets are held by the very long ( currently being upgraded) pier that has become an integral sporting way of life for visitors and locals alike.We love living here in the Sub Tropics BUT still yearn for the travelling days ( I think we may be on the road very soon) coming up shortly is a visit to Perth visiting families and friends ( I will actually celebrate my 70 th,even tho it will be a few weeks early !!)
Even the dogs travel in luxury here..People fishing from canoes and piers..Bats are also evident here and are well controlled by the council.I was fortunate enough to get a great pic of a Windsurfer just about to take off.Playgrounds are also prominent in the area and of course the obligatory food vans.
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 