On the recommendation of Peter McGinness (thank you) I took the bus to Watson’s Bay to go to Doyle’s restaurant for lobster and chips. They have a restaurant that’s been there since the 1880s And a take away. I went to the take away. Which all the local gulls know about. This is the view from the beach. You can just see the harbour bridge … Continue reading Last day in Oz but one….

I seem to be slowing down – can’t rustle up the energy to do much. However, today I trusted Apple maps to find the post office for me. Off I went on a 20 minute walk (including a large hill not marked on the map!) and on the way back came via the beach. Different route led me past another post office about 5 mins … Continue reading Still in Sydney

Yesterday (Sunday), Peter and Elly, Dave’s parents, very kindly drove me from their house in Canberra to my Airbnb flat on Bondi Beach before going on to Terrigal. No pictures as it was a road I had been down before and the air quality and. visibility were awful for almost the whole journey. https://apple.news/Alaq7POXNSbC9jcssUKWB3g Today it was cooler and windier and clearer – and this … Continue reading Back to Sydney

I have just been told that you lovely people who are following this blog do not get a notification when I add to previous postings rather than writing a new one. I’m afraid that, as I did not know this, I have sometimes been adding bits. Yesterday, for example. Please do go back and check if you are interested. Continue reading Newsflash!

Today was my last day with Rachael and Dave. I am very very grateful for their many kindnesses. I have returned to Canberra – Rachael kindly drove me to Sydney and I caught a bus. I am staying with Dave’s parents who have kindly offered to show me the town. Unfortunately, the air quality is horrible and the daytime temperature will be over 40 degrees … Continue reading Back to Canberra

To all my readers. Today I am back in Terrigal. I went back to the stretch lab at the same time as some large ‘worlds strongest man’ candidate. Then we went to the beach. It was very hot and quite smoky. We went for a walk and saw a spider. After lunch Dave went off to work followed by me and Rachael. We are now … Continue reading Happy New Year

Well I have noticed that everywhere I go, disaster follows. Hotel in Santa Monica, California, (down the hill from Pacific Palisades). Fire in Pacific Palisades two weeks later. One week in an Airbnb in Northland, New Zealand, fires three weeks later. Visit to the White Island volcano, erupted a month later. Visited Fox Glacier in New Zealand – two weeks later a thousand tourists cut … Continue reading The tour of doom

Thanks to Rachael for a very long day’s driving from Ballarat to her in-laws house in Canberra in increasing heat and smoke as we went East. These are a couple of the things we saw on the way. There is a submarine in the town of Holbrook (400km from the sea) because it used to be called Germanton and felt it ought to change its … Continue reading To Canberra

Christmas Day So this is my first really warm Christmas. Last night I went on the train from Melbourne and was picked up by Rachael and her dad. Today we did a brief tour round the town before having lunch at one set of relations and barbecue at another set. Much drink taken. Very kind people. This is the memorial to Australian prisoners of war … Continue reading Ballarat

Off, today (Monday) to St Kilda. This is a seaside suburb of Melbourne with some wonderful old architecture. Includes this, the oldest roller coaster in the world. Built in 1912 by the people who created Coney Island in the States as part of the Luna Park amusement park. I believe they’re all called Luna Parks in Australia now. There is a row of four of … Continue reading Melbourne continued