One day Editor Des and I were walking the famous Thames Path near London (as one does) when we stumbled upon the tiniest gnome in the universe. He was standing on a pile of golden sovereigns at Putney. I’m afraid Editor Des quickly scoffed the coins,
Read more →
The sculptor Tom Bass (1916-2010) was born in Lithgow. Richard Neville (1941-2016) spent much of his later life in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath. Both men were associated with a work of art regarded as one
Read more →
A LIGHT-HEARTED ‘JOURNEY’ AROUND SYDNEY SUBURBS We should never forget that almost all the names given to Sydney and its environs by Europeans were preceded by those used by Australia’s first people. Here is a list of Aboriginal place names complied by the Australian Museum.
Read more →
TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING OK, all packed for our trip across the Nullarbor on the Indian Pacific train. It’s a VERY long train. Had to catch the train to Sydney first. For heavens sake…..why couldn’t it pick us
Read more →
SCROLL TO BOTTOM FOR LATEST UPDATE! My guardian Pauline Conolly grew a special rose called Hot Chocolate. ‘Come and smell it Des’ she said. So I did, just to make her happy. I took a deep breath of
Read more →
In 1928 the Sydney publishers Angus and Robertson received an enquiry letter and sample poem from a Mr F. C. Meyers of Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. To say they were not impressed is something of an under-statement. Now you might imagine
Read more →
OK, so above we have a diagram showing the anatomy of the ibis. That’s all very well, but it omits a vital evolutionary link. According to urban mythology, Sydney’s sacred ibis are a scary mutation of the seagull. The story goes that over succeeding generations, one strain of
Read more →
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL RULES I grew up in the small Tasmanian town of Ulverstone, where Australian Rules Football was the sport we were passionate about. Ulverstone’s colours have always been black and red, hence their name, The Robins. In the 1960’s football was untainted by the corporate sector and
Read more →
I must begin with the most charming letter imaginable; written by the British author Sylvia Townsend Warner to her dear friend Alyse Gregory, in response to the gift of a sweet, wooden match box. THE AUSSIE MATCHBOX The familiar Redheads matches were first made in Australia
Read more →
Condensed milk has been around for generations. I do love the following snippet, published in an Australian newspaper in 1901; When condensed milk was first introduced thirty years ago the idea was scoffed at. The inventor carried the entire daily supply for New York in a ten-quart pail, delivering
Read more →