Some years ago I had to spend a few weeks in a major Sydney hospital. I didn’t actually feel sick, and since I was editing a book at the time I took along my notebooks and computer. There was no restriction at all on visitors. In fact,
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It’s easy to forget just how concerned ordinary Australians were for their safety during World War II. This was not without reason, given the bombing of Darwin and the arrival of Japanese midget submarines in Sydney Harbour. A giant metal boom was suspended across the harbour
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TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING OK, all packed for our trip across the Nullarbor on the Indian Pacific, It’s a VERY long train. Had to catch the train to Sydney first. For heavens sake…..why couldn’t it pick us up on the way???? Pretty poor service considering my status.
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Nullarbor, from Latin meaning ‘no trees’, but that’s a bit of a misnomer. STORY CONTINUED FROM…….WESTWARD HO! Chatting to fellow passengers and gazing at the passing landscape takes up a good deal of time aboard the Indian Pacific. I always imagined the scenery across the Nullarbor
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CONTINUED FROM – Westward Ho!-on the Indian Pacific TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING…. Up in time to see the sunrise as the Indian-Pacific approaches the outback mining town of Broken Hill at 6.00am. Indian Pacific passengers have a choice of excursions here and Rob and I are going to
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As someone who frequently writes on crime, a tale of death on the Indian Pacific Railway came to mind when my partner Rob and I booked our trip from Sydney to Perth. I even checked Dr Google to see if anyone had written a murder mystery inspired
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BIRTH OF THE PUDDING The English have long been maligned for the uninspired stodginess of their cooking, particularly by their gourmet neighbours, the French. Nevertheless, it was a Frenchman, Misson de Valbourg who, upon visiting England in 1690, was moved to exclaim: ‘What an excellent thing is
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CHRISTMAS IS NIGH As Christmas approaches I love looking back at seasonal celebrations in my Blue Mountains village of Blackheath. The following is from The Lithgow Mercury in 1909; There was very little stir here during Christmas, and everything passed off quietly. On Boxing Night a
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Dave McSorley was a local barber in Lithgow. He was also a heavy-weight boxer, and consummate showman. He once wagered that he could clean shave 1,000 men without a break. In the end he ran out of bristling chins, but still managed 420 shaves in 54½ hours,
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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 the perfume and then…wham!! A *#@!*!*# bee stung me
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