A Boy and his Dog

Charlie and Toka in the back of his ute on a recent day out to Rod's farm.


She looks a lot calmer than when we were driving along the highway. Yapping and chewing at the side of the ute.

Tip at Rod Crane's new farm

I went with Tip on one of his country trips and we stopped in at Rod Crane's new farm at Cullen Bullen on the way back. A magical spot and we're looking forward to a few weekends up there very soon.

The Capertee Valley near Cullen Bullen. Supposedly the 2nd largest valley in area after the Grand Canyon. 

Fish at last!

We gave the boys a day out on a charter boat for Christmas presents and they came back with a bag full. 

Australia Day 2006

Australia Day, 26th January, is the day we celebrate the official claiming of this great country by Captain Arthur Phillip in the name of the United Kingdom. The aboriginal people hate the day and what it stands for but frankly, it's really just an excuse for a party so they should join in and forget what happened 200 years ago. Nobody can change what happened and we are not all about to line up at Mascot and scarper back to good olde England.


Wendy Nick and Liz all jazzed up for our Australia Day cruise on Sydney Harbour.



Liz and I onboard the cruise boat and looking forward to the seafood buffet.

End of school

Charlie's last day of school at Nepean High... October 2005.

Raymond Terrace - October 2005

Liz and I with Wendy at Raymond Terrace north of Newcastle October 2005. This is the last day of Wendy and Nick's around Australia trip and we'd promised them we'd bring the QEIII and escort them and the Princess back into Sydney at the end of their 10 month adventure.

September 2005 - The Blitz Completed

 

September 2005 - Finished!

The plinth with my vege garden well under way with tomatoes and herbs.




 

Charlie on the Compactor

Charlie using the compactor to level and compact the path base. 

The Mighty Dingo Digger

Charlie on the amazing Dingo Digger which was used to strip 100mm off the whole back yard. That adds up to a total of just over 10 tonnes of dirt removed so we can level the yard ready for paving and lawn. 

All Hands on Deck

It was all hands on deck with Liz, David Wright, Tony Wright, Tip and Heidi lending a hand with the landscaping. 

The Backyard Blitz continues. The new clothes line area where the pool used to be and my new vege patch.
Click for larger image.

Can it get any worse?

Take It Or leave It

This editorial was written in an Australian newspaper.

Quote:

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT.

Take It Or Leave It.

I am tired of this country worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.

However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Australia.

However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand.

This idea of Australia being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Australians, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle.

This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, Learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our National Motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, Because God is part of our culture.

If the Southern Cross offends you, or you don't like " A Fair Go", then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet.

We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, And we really don't care how you did things where you came from.

This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this.

But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our National Motto, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, "THE RIGHT TO LEAVE".

If you aren't happy here then f#@* off! We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted. Pretty easy really, when you think about it.

The Last Word

I think the last word on the spirit of Londoners goes to shoemaker Dave Williams who hung a big sign outside his shop in response to the Al Queda website proclamation, "London is burning with fear and terror..."

"Burning with fear - my arse!!!"

Nice one Dave.... we agree!

London Bombings

It is difficult not to use a string of foul language to describe the perpetrators of the London bombings and the anger we all feel but, down here in our little corner of the world, we'd like to let the bastards who attacked London know what we think of them ...

A Very Neat Site

If you are travelling around this great country then check out the latest from the NRMA. It's a neat travel planner which allows you to enter a start point, end point and intermediate stops if you want and it will display not only a map but detailed driving directions as well. You can even go from street to street and it covers all states. Click on the link below and check it out.

NRMA Travel

A Stack of Freeways...

On a visit to LA a few years ago I was impressed with the freeways and the engineering marvels that were the freeway interchanges. I recall one that was stacked 9 levels high.

Our own freeways are pretty ordinary by comparison. The spider-web of roads over Darling Harbour is about the best we have. But, the new interchange at Walgrove Road, at the intersection of the M4 and the new M7, is a marvel.

Very soon this mess will be the most impressive interchange in the country and I believe, the only one where you can exit one freeway and immediately enter another one.



Some smart guys working on this.

Build it and they will come!

More like... "Install a tank and it will bucket down!"

It may seem like pretty mundane stuff but when you are on the business end of a 100-year drought any rain is a blessing. The 1000 litre tank has been up just 5 days and this morning the water was gushing out of the overflow pipe. We haven't had heavy drenching rain like this for many months.

God knows how many litres of precious water are just going down the drain though! We could have filled our tank many times over and we know that before long it will be dry again and we'll be praying for rain.

But maybe the drought is over. Lismore is being evacuated and all the northern rivers are at flood levels. They are getting drought-breaking rain west of the Great Divide. Not before time! We'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Wonderful Foresight!

Ten years ago local councils in Australia would have fined you for having a water tank in a suburban garden. Yes, even though you were only going to use the water for the garden and not for drinking, those morons with such wonderful foresight would hound you to hell for having the common sense to store rainwater.

Well, enter the worst drought in 100 years and now it is not a heinous offence. Those same idiots are falling all over themselves to encourage backyard watertanks. They will even pay you an incentive to buy one (Queensland gives you more and for smaller tanks... NSW is tight as usual).

Now that we have given tha back yard a makeover and are now "gardeneing types", we've installed a 1000 litre water tank.



No sooner was it installed than the clouds rolled in and it started raining ... the first good rain in many many months. Here's hoping the luck continues.