Following WWII, Swiss trapese artist Eugene Lambart and his wife Fritzi formed an act with a young Norwegian strongman, Arne Selfors. They looked about for an acrobat to complete their new show and came across two young sisters in Berne. The girls’ father, Mr Broenimann was a
Read more →
My inspiration for this story on the Aussie magpie was an amazing piece of free-form machine embroidery by Lynda Worthington. For someone like me who struggles to take up a hem, it was mind-blowing. There is enormous affection for magpies in Australia. They are so engaging and
Read more →
Carpets of autumn leaves are truly the Axminsters of the earth. I know there are wonderful carpets of blossom in spring, but autumn is definitely the main period for appreciating Mother Nature’s work. It’s one of the main reasons I moved from Sydney to the Blue Mountains
Read more →
Autumn is a busy time for the birds in our Blackheath garden. So many seeds to snack on, so many fallen leaves to scrabble about in. And I swear there are those who just know they look good against a blaze of colour. The cheeky rascal below
Read more →
The Park Avenue entrance gates to Blackheath’s Memorial Park were funded by public subscription. They were officially opened on May 18 1938, by Minister for Works and Local Government Mr Eric Spooner. The project commemorated the reign of King George V (1910-1936). 300 people turned up
Read more →
The ‘Explorers Tree’ outside Katoomba has been the subject of debate for generations. For reasons explained further on, there is an argument that is should more properly be referred to simply as the Marked Tree. In 1813 the three men pictured above set out to cross the
Read more →
I have been revising a piece I wrote about pioneering women and their appreciation of Australia’s native flora. Not surprisingly, the Blue Mountains featured heavily. Once the first road was constructed from Sydney through to Bathurst in 1815, intrepid settlers followed. Then the iron ranges echoed To
Read more →
Mid February, and in my Blackheath garden the banksia serratas are in bloom. They are loved by all the honeyeaters, but especially Wattlebirds and Eastern Spinebills. Bees are visiting the native lilly-pilly flowers on the bush outside Slurps café, in Wentworth Street. I know there must be
Read more →
Sometimes a much loved tree just has to go. Our old double trunk gum was much too close to the house. It was a definite fire-hazard, and also there were signs of white-ant activity. The tragedy was that many of our birds were fond of it too.
Read more →
MASTER OF THE ART OF GLASS How lucky we Blackheathens are to have someone as talented as glass artist Keith Rowe in our midst. He built the huge furnace pictured below himself, back in 1990. His work is represented in public and private galleries around the world.
Read more →