I’m usually writing positive, upbeat stories about Blackheath, so this is pretty disappointing. What a ghastly mess the pond at Soldiers’ Memorial Park is. We have had plenty of rain recently, but the level keeps dropping every day. Is it leaking? This wood duck thinks is less
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First trip to Sydney on the train for a very long time. I was a bit nervous, especially re social distancing on the train as I’m immune-suppressed. Only medical checkups for my partner Rob and I had prompted the journey, but it still felt like a little
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Let me admit at the outset that my grasp of grammar and spelling are, (sorry is), not perfect. My saving grace is that I usually know if something looks wrong. On the downside, the older I get, the more I seem to lose confidence in whether a
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Such publications are currently under serious threat. Lack of advertising and competition from alternative news sources are taking their toll. Our local rag The Gazette, is a free publication delivered to every home, well at least in Blackheath it is. This infuriates people who don’t want to
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It’s a great privilege to watch baby birds being fed. Wonga pigeons feed their chicks ‘milk’ for quite a while, even after a baby has begun to potter about foraging for solids. They are very shy birds, so to see this taking place through our kitchen window
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OK, so it’s difficult to know what to give my guardian Pauline Conolly for Mother’s Day. Well it’s because I’m in lock-down, and I can’t get to the shops. Yes, I could pick a bunch of flowers, but that’s a bit ho-hum. She has a whole garden
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Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Wonga of Blackheath on the arrival of a healthy chick. It hasn’t been an easy journey for them. This sweet baby called Spirit arrived in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic after its loving parents had nested in a cedar tree about
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Splendid isolation at the local duck pond in Blackheath – no tourists to feed the residents so I’m sure their diet has improved. Let’s hope that one day soon we will be free and the kids will be back on the swings. Such a simple joy. I
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Social historians will be investigating and interpreting the pandemic and the phenomenon of self-isolation for years to come. Lock-down has altered our behaviour in so many ways. It has lead to a phenomenon dubbed ‘iso-baking’ (and a scarcity of flour), but also to a huge increase in
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We are experiencing an autumn like no other at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains of NSW. Heart-lifting in its beauty, heart breaking in the worldwide impact of Covid19. I cannot think of anywhere better to be living in lock-down. My daily walk takes me past the local
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