Ceratopetalum gummiferum, is a small tree commonly known as the New South Wales Christmas Bush. Its sepals turn bright red/pink in December. In Victorian times, native foliage such as Christmas bush was very popular as a festive decoration in Sydney. It was growing in the heart of
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Now I do like wearing a hat. I think this trait was inherited from both my mother and my paternal grandmother, particularly the latter. Buying a new one (even a basic sun hat) is the only ‘apparel shopping’ I enjoy. No need to struggle out of your
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Stella and Reginald Harrison were married at Hawthorn, Victoria in May 1934. However, married life for the couple began in Sydney, where Reginald had been appointed Manager of the Mansion House Private Hotel in Elizabeth Street. The only shadow on their happiness was that in July Stella,
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My partner and I were wandering through Sydney’s newly renovated Australian Museum recently, enjoying all the natural history treasures on display. I hardly gave the Victorian armchair pictured below a second glance until I overheard a staff member explaining it’s significance to another visitor. Oh my word,
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In 1887 there was great excitement over a huge gold nugget found at Maitland Bar near Mudgee. The prize was unearthed on June 22, as three miners were working their claim; Jonathan Thorpe, Isaac Holmes and Fred Leeder. After washing two tubs of material Holmes and Leeder
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Remember The Summit, that revolving restaurant towering above the city? It closed for renovations in 2012 and re-opened as O Bar & Dining. My partner Rob took me there recently for a significant birthday celebration. Due to the wretched Covid19 Rob and I hadn’t been to Sydney
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Hello Peeps, Editor Des reporting. Well I had a Covid escape to Sydney from Blackheath a while back….OK, a LONG while back! 😨 Cities are strange places, did you know that? You could disappear from one completely in the proverbial puff of smoke, or something even more
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Hello. Did you know that Australia’s dear little koala had a very bad time during the bush fires earlier this year? Well they can’t run very fast, so that was a problem. I was in Sydney the other day and people were protesting about it all. I
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Daydreaming in our pandemic iso-world is a national pastime. Here is an imagined dinner, hosted by myself and my partner Rob in our new house at Blackheath, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. There are four courses (well sort of), and four dinner guests from
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I was intrigued to come across a reference to one of my articles on the internet recently. It was included in the description of a rare and beautiful item offered for sale by Hordern House Rare books, located in Sydney’s Surry Hills. This tiny object was of
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