THE PARTY TO END ALL PARTIES!!!

Wow what a time we had! Pets, people, PARTY!!! Loved seeing Gregory Peck, glad he could come at the last minute! What a blast!

Food was great, we all had a wonderful time, thanks to Sydney for it's hospitality, especially the use of the Opera House (see interior) - see you all next year at ...... ??????

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!

Col Paterson's Burra tour tips

Dear Jenny, you may like to use the attached picture in your Party 2008 blog. It has been mentioned that the Piddlesbury bus could do a side trip to Burra - these 2 snaps are showing the dugouts in the creek banks which were home to many Cornish mining families. One year many were drowned due to the creek flooding. These dugout residences were quite extraordinary. Hand dug into the creek bank, some were of 2-3 rooms with several chimneys dug vertically up to the surface consolidated by mud cement or timber square, old barrels etc, very few were in brick. Some had hessian or canvas curtain doors others had timber frames and doors and glass windows. Also to be viewed is the Redruth Goal in Tregony Street. A picnic lunch could be held on the old Railway Platform or at the Bon Accord Hotel across the road.

I can already hear the Pets Choir echoing in the old Railway Station. Lolloping Lorna and the Grand Duchess and The Coach Captain should reallyenjoy the visit. Allabest for the New Year and have a happy Xmas.

Col Paterson

Thanks Col - Of course, people can go back and virtually enjoy that tour any time they want to! I had really wanted to include the dugouts but couldn't find any pics - I remember hearing that an epidemic of some kind went through this community due to the very unhygienic conditions - but the miners had no choice, the companies did not provide them with housing, and they had to live somewhere!

A gift from Captain Vegemite himself!

Yes folks, the great man himself apologises that he cannot make the party in person, but has sent us this lovely version of a wonderful old Christmas tune ...... it will make Aussie hearts everywhere long for home!

And for the pets choir, he sent this one in ...... http://www.duluxchristmascarollers.com.au

Thanks Captain V!!!

Mulled Cider

Found this while looking up scrumpy for Mrs Annear, and thought it might be fun to try for Christmas .... might be nice after the ball perhaps!

To spice up one quart of apple juice, use one stick of cinnamon, about twenty whole black peppercorns, 3 whole cloves, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. (The sugar quantity can be reduced down to one tablespoon, but I like it sweet.) In addition to these four ingredients, prepare some zest from a citrus fruit. In this example, I used the zest from half a Meyer lemon, but lemons, limes, and oranges all work perfectly. Use the zest from half a lemon, lime, or lemon-sized orange for each quart of apple juice. If you're using medium lemons, use about a third of the zest. Large oranges - use a quarter of the zest per quart of juice.
Select a pot or pan large enough to hold all the apple juice. Toast the cinnamon, cloves, and peppercorns to bring out their distinct flavors and aromas. Do this by simply heating your pan over medium heat with the spices in the pan. Toss the spices in the pan occasionally to prevent burning. The spices should become very fragrant within a minute or two.
Pour the apple juice into the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. When the apple juice gets warm, stir in the brown sugar so it fully dissolves.
Once the apple juice is boiling, reduce the heat so it just simmers (small bubbles form and rise to the top in a steady rhythm, but not at a furious rate). Add the citrus zest at this time. We don't add the zest earlier because we don't want the brief hard boil to break up the zest to the point where we will have difficulty straining it. If you're careful, you can add the zest with the brown sugar and watch the temperature to bring the juice up to simmering but not to boiling. Maintain the simmer for thirty minutes. I do this with the lid off because it's easier for me to keep it at a constant simmer this way.
Pour the mulled juice/cider through a fine mesh strainer and into the container of your choice. If your cider has a great deal of particulate matter, you may want to place a cheesecloth or coffee filter in your strainer (or sandwiched between two strainers) to filter out the fine particles. Serve hot.

A comment was that you can add a bit of butter & rum as well .....
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/151/Mulled-Cider-Spiced-Apple-Cider

Chills up the spine at Fortuna, Bendigo

Fortuna villa is situated in Victoria's Bendigo, built in the 1860's and formerly the home of Australia's "Quartz King" George Lansell, the man credited with introducing deep tunnel mining. George was an extraordinary man who lived till he was 82, dying in the house. During his time there he spent a fortune on his fairytale mansion, importing antiques from every corner of the globe and installing stained glass windowns, turrets, decorated ceilings and delicate wood panelling for the walls. It is said when Lansell left Bendigo (after finding a coffin on his front lawn, a message from one of his enemies) the town languished, so the townspeople organised a petition to be drawn up which was then sent to England, urging Lansell to return. Fortuna was eventually taken over by the Survey and Mapping Regiment of the Australian Army and it is believed to be Bendigo's most haunted house.
What makes this house interesting is the numerous official reports from soldiers over the years have been recounted and documented including this one by Major John Bloor
Captain J. Bloor, February 1973: "Whilst on picket duty, at about 0450 hours, I crossed the road in front of the new barrack block to go down the stairs leading to the path around the lake. Out of the corner of my eye, just as I mounted the gutter on the lake side of the road, I noticed an object standing by the double doors of the kitchen. I stopped and took another look, because usually there is nothing in that position. I saw an apparition which was like a shroud hovering by the door and moving slowly from side to side. The form was about 1.8 metres tall. Brickwork could be seen through it. The apparition was moving very slowly and moved through the outer door of the kitchen and stopped by the inner door. The top half of it could be seen. It stayed there for some time and then turned around and returned to its original position. Once again it rotated slowly from left to right and then suddenly stopped. I got the impression that it had suddenly sensed my presence. It then moved about six metres to the east which, due to the building corner between us, put it out of my view. I moved back to the centre of the road to a position where I could see the apparition beneath the window of the kitchen. It was still moving slowly from left to right. Once again it stopped as if again it had seen me. It then moved back to its original position and disappeared. The whole sighting lasted for a couple of minutes."
Sergeant, 1982: "I was performing a security check of the main building of Fortuna and as part of my duties I was to check incoming telex messages. I checked the door to the telex room and found it to be locked as would be expected. I then proceeded to the main keyboard located in the switchboard room, and, as I was removing the telex room key, I heard a woman's voice say softly: ‘What are you doing here?' I was extremely frightened as I had carried out a full check of the doors and windows of the building and knew it to be secure. I then hurried to the telex room (a distance of some six metres). I approached the locked door and just as I was about to insert the key, the door slowly opened. I had not touched the door at this time and there were no strong draughts that could have caused this movement."
Corporal, 1965: "At 0300 hours, I was adding logs to the open fireplace in the billiard room (now the Corporal and Sappers mess). Suddenly I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the double doors that connected the ballroom and the billiard room. As I turned towards the doors, they both opened fully. As the building was locked and I was the only occupant, there was no logical explanation."
Footsteps are reportedly heard in what was once Sir George Lansell's bedroom and it's adjoining bathroom, also in the billiard room and officers mess. A female voice is also often heard. The voice, which seemingly comes from no visible body is supposedly that of George Lansell's first wife, Bedillia, who died under "uncertain" circumstances in the 1880s
It appears it has now got to the point where the soldiers refuse to stay overnight at Fortuna, though the Army does run Sunday afternoon tours around Fortuna, and with the proceeds hopes to restore the mansion to its original grandeur.

From http://www.hauntedaustralia.com/content/view/115/46/

and from The Bendigo Advertiser:

FORTUNA PLEA

BY NINO BUCCI[BB]
4/06/2008 8:44:00 AM
SAVING Fortuna Villa as a cultural icon of Bendigo means the council must act now, a local group said last night.
The Villa Fortuna Action Group outlined its plans for the Fortuna Arts and Cultural Enterprise at a public meeting, calling on the City of Greater Bendigo Council to act soon in order to save the historic landmark.
Defence Department personnel are due to vacate the 19th century building in coming months but action group president Merle Hall said the council did not need to wait for Defence approval to place a bid for the building - despite comments made by City Futures director Stan Liacos in The Advertiser last Thursday suggesting the council's options are limited.
Ms Hall said the council must offer a priority or concessional purchase to the Defence Department as soon as possible, or risk having the Federal Government deal with the site in its own way.
"It's time for everyone to realise just how close we are to losing this forever. The idea is to raise awareness so that the council is aware that the community would really love to have this property as a major asset of Bendigo.
"If the council purchases it, we're giving them an excellent project plan that will show them how it can be utilised."
Ms Hall said Fortuna Villa could centralise many community functions and events, and she contended it could be self-sustaining in just a few years.
Representatives of vastly different community groups attended the meeting.
They included descendants of quartz mining magnate and original villa owner George Lansell, and a member of the indigenous Jaara people.
Ms Hall said the action group was yet to discuss its intentions with the Department of Defence, which uses the facility for its Geospatial Analysis Centre.
She also acknowledged that limited contact had been made with the council, although councillors Elaine Harrington and Rod Fyffe attended the meeting last night.
A business plan established in the next two months will be presented to the council and the community.
Ms Hall said the arts and cultural focus of the redevelopment had been chosen because the villa was ideally suited to it.
‘‘Some of our earlier groups have had the idea for this for a number of years.
‘‘We have a wonderful model for it in the Abbotsford Convent project in Melbourne.
‘‘It is in the black after only five or six years.’’

Come with us to Burra, South Australia

Lucky the Great Piddlesbury can cover such vast distances in such a short time, as Burra is about 1400 kms from Sydney! Click on the Google satellite image to view the route, or use Google Maps to explore further - use the 'Get Directions' function to follow the route we'll take. The country is looking very dry on Google maps, but after the lovely rains we've had, I'm sure it will be looking a whole lot better now.

You'll find streets called 'St Just', 'Sancreed', 'Ludgvan' and many other familiar Cornish names.

http://www.visitburra.com/History_of_Burra is an excellent place to start.

Top is Johnny Green, who sits atop a chimney stack, and 'tis said mothers used the fear of Johnny Green to get the children to behave!

Second is Burra's beautiful rotunda - nearly every town has or had one, as people loved to come out to hear their local band play on a Sunday afternoon.

Third is of course, the remains of an engine house which has been beautifully restored.

Fourth and fifth show what could almost be the same house at different periods of history - they're not the same, as far as I know, but they are typical of the houses built in the district - and later abandoned. South Australia has a very harsh climate with uncertain rains, and many a settler came in a good season, only to be driven away by drought.

The List Party leaves a record of it's visit to the Blue Mountains ...

Just noticed this - must have happened on our way to Hill End I should think, when Keith pulled up at Echo Point in the Blue Mountains. I didn't see anyone with flags - and who did the climbing, I'd like to know? I don't think anyone will notice tho, so we'll just say nothing, OK?

(In case you're thinking there are two Australian flags - nope, one is the New Zealand flag (bottom right), which is different to the Aussie flag. That's in deference to any Kiwis who might feel left out! Apologies to any other nationality, I'm happy to add your flag if it's not there, just let me know!)

And here's the Lone Star state just for you Grandma Mimi Meli!

Day Trip to Moliagul

All aboard the Great Piddlesbury! This will be a longish trip folks, 930km, lucky it's a virtual trip! We'll head straight down the Hume Highway through Albury-Wodonga (twin towns, one on either side of the Murray River, which divides Victoria and NSW) then we'll turn right through Seymour, on to Bendigo and then 63km to Moliagul. Now, I'd never heard of Moliagul, maybe Viv is right, and I'm NOT an Australian .... but there it is, I had never heard of the place. So this is all new to me, I'm off to Google Maps to see if Street View is available in Moliagul - well, I'm back, and yes it is available. I drove down the Moliagul-Dunnolly Road for a little way (see picture above) until I came to the sign that says "Moliagul" "Home of the Welcome Stranger) - you can do the same, by going to Google Maps, type in 'Moliagul Australia" then drag the little yellow man above the zoom bar onto the Moliagul-Dunnolly Road - and you're there! It might take a little while (and make sure you choose 'satellite' view) but it's fun.

Corinne sent me the picture on the right, the gentleman is Dick Deason, a direct descendant of John Deason, the chap who found the Welcome Stranger. The picture on the left is from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moliagul,_Victoria and shows miners & their wives with the finders of the Welcome Stranger - not sure which is Dick's ancestor.

Just had a look at Hill End too - didn't think Google Maps camera went all the way up there, but it does! It's a virtual world all right! Here's the link but not sure if it will work http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl (I tried to put the exact link in but you have to find it yourself obviously - this link will just take you to Google Maps Australia). You can get a 360 degree view by holding the left button on the mouse down and dragging the mouse in the direction you want to look. (I'm sure lots will know all this, but for those who don't ... :-))

Cornish gal from Texas joins the party

And a big hello to this Texas Rose - Grandma Mimi Meli is on her way in her buckboard, hitched up to jalapeno-boosted mules! Just can't wait to taste that chilis & beans, with lots of onions! What am I saying??? I could live to regret this!

Visit to Hill End, goldmining (ghost) town in NSW

Well here we are in lovely Hill End. I'm afraid it is a rather cold winter's day, so I hope everyone brought plenty of warm clothes. If I remember rightly, Old Jim's All Nations Hotel was just opposite this building on the left - nothing there today but a plaque to say it was there! That goes for a lot of the old buildings - the population today is 100, in Jim's day it was 8,000! His pub was only one of many, and there were shops galore. The Main Street was a muddy quagmire in winter, so mind how you walk! The picture on the right was a few kilometres out of town and was something to do with the way they got the gold out of the ore I think - it was all a Cornish invention, anyway. The huge stone wells pictured are part of the same complex - they are the roasting pits, which they used to soften the quartz before crushing. Someone more knowledgeable than me may post a proper explanation if we're lucky! If you go to http://www.bathurst-nsw.com/HillEnd.html you'll get a very comprehensive background to Hill End, and to focus on the Cornish in Hill End, read this http://members.optusnet.com.au/kevrenor/HillEndTalk.pdf . The Cornish Association of NSW had an excellent weekend there in 2005, and this was the speech given by the keynote speaker of the evening, Brian Hodge. The ride up was a bit bumpy wasn't it, but it was sure better than it was in Old Jim's day!

Missing Sydney Harbour Bridge tower located at Carnegie Hall!

Australian Federal Police today received word from the FBI that the missing tower from the Harbour Bridge has been located at Carnegie Hall, New York. The embarrassed owners of Carnegie Hall admitted to appropriating the tower to add an unusual buttress to one side (see picture). It seems after reading an email on our list, that they were under the impression that the towers were fair game for Americans, and had planned to come and get the remaining three at a later time. The tower will be returned to Sydney before Christmas, providing the US parcel post is not too clogged up with Christmas mail.

A little bit of history ...

Not to inflame the NSW vs Victoria rivalry - but here is the proof that Our Nation started in Victoria! This is the opening of the first parliament, in the Exhibition Building. What has this to do with Cornwall you ask? Only this - Sir John Quick, a Cornish lad from St Ives, rose to great prominence and was very instrumental in achieving federation for Australia - no mean feat, because if you think we're bad now, you should have been there before federation! If you want to know more about Sir John go to http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110327b.htm .

We have our stand-in Baby Jesus!

Thanks to Keith (who has abdicated, as his country does not allow the acceptance of Royal titles), we now have our very own Crib complete with Baby Jasmine Abel. She appears quite comfortable in the Crib, we hope the straw doesn't tickle her too much!

Fortunately her Grandad is NOT the King Keith recently arrested, although lingering suspicion still exists due to his statements in an earlier email. As we know, Keith is Canadian, and he stated in his email that "The towers were then no longer needed and were left for Americans to take away as souvenirs," we feel that he is totally innocent of the charges laid. We are glad to take up Keith's offer of a sight-seeing trip around Australia and ask for fellow-listers to suggest suitable places (preferably with Cornish connections).

Heinous offence in Sydney - Cornish Lister's guest Ned Kelly blamed!

Listers will recall that King Keith has been incarcerated in Long Bay Gaol, for allegedly pilfering a piece of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. In fact, a much more serious crime has been committed - one whole tower has mysteriously disappeared in the night, and has been replaced by - of all things! - a supporting pier from Melbourne's Princes Bridge (a much inferior bridge, it has to be admitted, but Melburnians are outraged by its disappearance). Fortunately our beloved King has the best of alibis - he was under lock and key at the time, and even the arresting office had to admit that King Keith could not have been responsible. The finger of suspicion has now been pointed at Ned Kelly, travelling with Corinne in the Jelbart Tractor, as the most likely culprit. Corinne admits that Ned had 'ideas' about the Crown Casino in Melbourne, and it is considered very likely that while crossing Princes Bridge he attached the pier to the Jelbart Tractor, unbeknown to Corinne.

King Keith behind bars

After discussion on the List re the possible pilfering of parts of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Bridge Police have detained our intrepid monarch. Demonstrations have been held in the Domain, all guests at the party have rallied to his defence. Duchess Daft, Arch Duchess Mary with the impossibly long title, in fact all the royalty in our group have headed to Canberra to protest to our Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Camp Fire has been disbanded temporarily until this unseemly misunderstanding has been sorted out.

I pledge the use of the Jelbart Tractor again as a last resort to free King Keith - we are sure he had no intention of souveniring any part of the Bridge.

Australia from An American Perspective

I recommend this site to everyone who wants a good, comprehensive overview of our land.

Michael Stecker is the author, and he is obviously a man of eclectic tastes - go to his home page when you've finished reading about Australia and find out about his other interests.

He has a great audio version of Waltzing Matilda and I have asked his permission to TRY and use it here - but in the meantime, go to his site and hear it, it's great.

http://mstecker.com/pages/australia_fp.htm

And don't be put off by the funnel web spider - hardly anyone ever dies!!!

A Bush Christmas - C J Dennis

The sun burns hotly thro' the gums
As down the road old Rogan comes --
The hatter from the lonely hut
Beside the track to Woollybutt.
He likes to spend his Christmas with us here.
He says a man gets sort of strange
Living alone without a change,
Gets sort of settled in his way;
And so he comes each Christmas day
To share a bite of tucker and a beer.
Dad and the boys have nought to do,
Except a stray odd job or two.
Along the fence or in the yard,
"It ain't a day for workin' hard."
Says Dad. "One day a year don't matter much."
And then dishevelled, hot and red,
Mum, thro' the doorway puts her head
And says, "This Christmas cooking, My!
The sun's near fit for cooking by."
Upon her word she never did see such.
"Your fault," says Dad, "you know it is.
Plum puddin'! on a day like this,
And roasted turkeys! Spare me days,
I can't get over women's ways.
In climates such as this the thing's all wrong.
A bit of cold corned beef an' bread
Would do us very well instead."
Then Rogan said, "You're right; it's hot.
It makes a feller drink a lot."
And Dad gets up and says, "Well, come along."
The dinner's served -- full bite and sup.
"Come on," says Mum, "Now all sit up."
The meal takes on a festive air;
And even father eats his share
And passes up his plate to have some more.
He laughs and says it's Christmas time,
"That's cookin', Mum. The stuffin's prime."
But Rogan pauses once to praise,
Then eats as tho' he'd starved for days.
And pitches turkey bones outside the door.
The sun burns hotly thro' the gums,
The chirping of the locusts comes
Across the paddocks, parched and grey.
"Whew!" wheezes Father. "What a day!"
And sheds his vest. For coats no man had need.
Then Rogan shoves his plate aside
And sighs, as sated men have sighed,
At many boards in many climes
On many other Christmas times.
"By gum!" he says, "That was a slap-up feed!"
Then, with his black pipe well alight,
Old Rogan brings the kids delight
By telling o'er again his yarns
Of Christmas tide 'mid English barns
When he was, long ago, a farmer's boy.
His old eyes glisten as he sees
Half glimpses of old memories,
Of whitened fields and winter snows,
And yuletide logs and mistletoes,
And all that half-forgotten, hallowed joy.
The children listen, mouths agape,
And see a land with no escape
For biting cold and snow and frost --
A land to all earth's brightness lost,
A strange and freakish Christmas land to them.
But Rogan, with his dim old eyes
Grown far away and strangely wise
Talks on; and pauses but to ask
"Ain't there a drop more in that cask?"
And father nods; but Mother says "Ahem!"
The sun slants redly thro' the gums
As quietly the evening comes,
And Rogan gets his old grey mare,
That matches well his own grey hair,
And rides away into the setting sun.
"Ah, well," says Dad. "I got to say
I never spent a lazier day.
We ought to get that top fence wired."
"My!" sighs poor Mum. "But I am tired!
An' all that washing up still to be done."
"C.J. Dennis"Herald, 24 December 1931, p4

A Bush Christening

On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few,
And men of religion are scanty,
On a road never cross'd 'cept by folk that are lost,
One Michael Magee had a shanty.
Now this Mike was the dad of a ten-year-old lad,
Plump, healthy, and stoutly conditioned;
He was strong as the best, but poor Mike had no rest
For the youngster had never been christened,
And his wife used to cry, "If the darlin' should die
Saint Peter would not recognise him."
But by luck he survived till a preacher arrived,
Who agreed straightaway to baptise him.
Now the artful young rogue, while they held their collogue,
With his ear to the keyhole was listenin',
And he muttered in fright while his features turned white,
"What the divil and all is this christenin'?"
He was none of your dolts, he had seen them brand colts,
And it seemed to his small understanding,
If the man in the frock made him one of the flock,
It must mean something very like branding.
So away with a rush he set off for the bush,
While the tears in his eyelids they glistened-
"'Tis outrageous," says he, "to brand youngsters like me,
I'll be dashed if I'll stop to be christened!"
Like a young native dog he ran into a log,
And his father with language uncivil,
Never heeding the "praste" cried aloud in his haste,
"Come out and be christened, you divil!"
But he lay there as snug as a bug in a rug,
And his parents in vain might reprove him,
Till his reverence spoke (he was fond of a joke)
"I've a notion," says he, "that'll move him."
"Poke a stick up the log, give the spalpeen a prog;
Poke him aisy-don't hurt him or maim him,
'Tis not long that he'll stand, I've the water at hand,
As he rushes out this end I'll name him.
"Here he comes, and for shame! ye've forgotten the name-
Is it Patsy or Michael or Dinnis?"
Here the youngster ran out, and the priest gave a shout-
"Take your chance, anyhow, wid 'Maginnis'!"
As the howling young cub ran away to the scrub
Where he knew that pursuit would be risky,
The priest, as he fled, flung a flask at his head
That was labelled "Maginnis's Whisky!"
And Maginnis Magee has been made a J.P.,
And the one thing he hates more than sin is
To be asked by the folk who have heard of the joke,
How he came to be christened "Maginnis"!
The Bulletin, 16 December 1893.

Mulga Bill's Bicycle

Thanks Corinne, one of my favourite bush poets! 'From 'Banjo' Paterson:

'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze;
He turned away the good old horse that served him many days;
He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen;
He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine;
And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride,
The grinning shop assistant said, "Excuse me, can you ride?"
"See here, young man," said Mulga Bill, "from Walgett to the sea,
From Conroy's Gap to Castlereagh, there's none can ride like me.
I'm good all round at everything, as everybody knows,
Although I'm not the one to talk - I hate a man that blows.
But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight;
Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wildcat can it fight.
There's nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel,
There's nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel,
But what I'll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight:
I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight."
'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that sought his own abode,
That perched above the Dead Man's Creek, beside the mountain road.
He turned the cycle down the hill and mounted for the fray,
But ere he'd gone a dozen yards it bolted clean away.
It left the track, and through the trees, just like a silver streak,
It whistled down the awful slope towards the Dead Man's Creek.
It shaved a stump by half an inch, it dodged a big white-box:
The very wallaroos in fright went scrambling up the rocks,
The wombats hiding in their caves dug deeper underground,
As Mulga Bill, as white as chalk, sat tight to every bound.
It struck a stone and gave a spring that cleared a fallen tree,
It raced beside a precipice as close as close could be;
And then as Mulga Bill let out one last despairing shriek
It made a leap of twenty feet into the Dead Man's Creek.
'Twas Mulga Bill from Eaglehawk, that slowly swam ashore:
He said, "I've had some narrer shaves and lively rides before;
I've rode a wild bull round a yard to win a five-pound bet,
But this was the most awful ride that I've encountered yet.
I'll give that two-wheeled outlaw best;
It's shaken all my nerve
To feel it whistle through the air and plunge and buck and swerve.
It's safe at rest in Dead Man's Creek, we'll leave it lying still;
A horse's back is good enough henceforth for Mulga Bill

High speed scooter chase on the Hume Highway!

Too late Norma!! Aunty Jack has seen you and she's on her way! You'll have to speed up if you want to escape her clutches - she'll rip ya bloody arm off!!

Norma is nearing Sydney with the poodles

The Jelbart tractor was speeding up the Hume Highway with Corinne at the wheel when a nifty little scooter was spotted. Ned immediately whipped out his trusty digital camera and snapped Norma as she negotiated the traffic. Looking forward to seeing you Norma, and LOVE those pretty pooches!

Carnegie Hall - New York or Melbourne

The argument has raged over whether or not the Carnegie Hall ever existed outside of New York. And whether or not Barry Humphries (alias Dame Edna Everage and others) ever played there. This blog can now answer this question for all time. Pictured is a record (vinyl-type) cover depicting Barry Humphries (weighing considerably less than he does now, and considerably younger to boot) standing in front of - CARNEGIE ... HALL (probably Memorial was in the middle part but it is hidden by Barry's head). Although no historians or long time residents this blogger has spoken to ever remember such a hall, I believe it existed - unless of course, it was a carboard replica - and with Barry Humphries involved, that could well be the case.

The Piddlesbury has landed!

Such a relief! News at last from the Great Piddlesbury. Three Cheers for Captain King Keith! Hip hip - HOORAY!! Hip hip - HOORAY!! Hip hip - HOORAY!! Keith has special parking rights, given the massive feat he has just accomplished - in fact he is to be made an honorary Australian at a ceremony later in the day (which will be yesterday for you Keith, or is it tomorrow?). Our Prime Minister, Kenny Rudd, has decreed that you will not have to pass the citizenship that other poor mortals have to sit, see http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21751638-662,00.html if you are thinking of becoming an Australian. Lucky for us Australian born, we don't have to sit the test, or we would fail and be sent back to .... tomorrow?
Picture courtesty Sea Eagle-cam.

Jelbart Tractor to the Rescue!

I've done it, Corinne, with the new turbo blaster jet booster Jelbart tractor. I got up to New South Wales in record time, picked up the tractor and here I am, outside the gates, ready to pick up you and Ned. Just say the word ....

The Jelbart tractor was invented in Australia by the Jelbart Bros of Cornwall, who built a foundry in Ballarat.

Introducing Wilbur, the Peruvian Cavy & BB the White Cat

Wilbur the cavy who can't tell his back from his front & BB the white cat are travelling with Jean from Florida in the Great Piddlesbury. They will be signing autographs when they reach Sydney. At present they are still cavorting on the sand in Fiji (either that or BB is stalking Wilbur in the overgrown banana plantation in Queensland!).