My New Interest

I caught up with my old mate Ben Sharif after a few years and seems he's semi-retired too and is into photography in a big way. So I dusted off my old cameras, hauled out the digital one and we're now off on regular photo shoots. It's a lot of fun and keeps me out of trouble ... well almost!

Here's my Flickr site.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/purfleetannex

My Tibetan Friend

Those of you who have followed Ian and my Inja Or Bust weblog will be familiar with the Tibetan monks Tamkey and Lekshey we met in Darjeeling (http://www.injaorbust.blogspot.com).

I have kept contact with Tamkey through emails and we correspond about once a week. He is such a gentle soul and gives me news of his studies to become a doctor so he can open a hospital in his village in Tibet.

His last email contained a couple of photos, one with his Mum and one of his family.




I count Tamkey as a true friend and I am humbled by his simple philosophy and life. It is my hope that one day I will be able to visit Tamkey and his family in Tibet.

Rain From Nowhere

For the benefit of those who missed this poem in the Sun-Herald on March 11 2007, here is the link to it......

Rain From Nowhere

It may just be the most important Australian poem of all time.

QEIII-Cam

I recently went up to Tweed Heads to visit my Mum who is 93 and not doing to well.

The QEIII headed north along the Pacific Highway and during the trip we were able to capture some sensational video of night driving on the Pacific Highway.

Check the video here at YouTube

Make sure you turn up your speakers.

Chinese New Year 2007

It's always good to catch up with old friends and what better place and time than Chinese New Year here in Sydney's Chinatown.


I'd been bragging about the excellent Laksa's down at the Phnom Pehn in the Dixon Centre so Tony and Kerry Wright and Liz and I met and enjoyed some tasty food and a few laughs.



Fireworks were still being let off in the streets of Chinatown and there was a festival atmosphere in the air. Of course, the girls wanted to explore the revamped Paddy's Market shopping mall so Tony and I got in a spot of eye exercises while they checked out the hundreds of factory outlook shops.

A great day out and with our wonderful friends.

Only in Australia ... !

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!!! OI OI OI!!!

Being Australian is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV.

Oh and Only in Australia can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.

Only in Australia do supermarkets make sick people walk all the way to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions while healthy People can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in Australia do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke.

Only in Australia do banks leave both doors open and chain the pens to the counters.

Only in Australia do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars on the drive and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.

Only in Australia do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have 'call-waiting' so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.

Only in Australia are there disabled parking places in front of a skating rink.

NOT TO MENTION...

3 Aussies die each year testing if a 9v battery works on their tongue.

142 Aussies were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts.

58 Aussies are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers.

31 Aussies have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in.

8 Aussies had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.

A massive 543 Aussies were admitted to Emergency in the last two years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth.

and finally,

In 2000 eight Aussies cracked their skull whilst throwing up into the toilet.

A Classic

Last night, Bill Collins Golden Years of Hollywood featured the 1942 classic Random Harvest with Ronald Coleman and Greer Garson. What struck me during the introduction was the announcement that it was rated G for General Viewing.

Anyone who has seen the movie will agree that it is indeed a classic and one of the most popular romatic films of all time. Written by James Hilton (Lost Horizon etc) it contains no nudity, no swearing, no gratuitous sex scenes, no violence, no unbelieveable car chases, all the ingredients of today's blockbusters, and yet it holds the viewer's attention and what is more, tells a good story.

Random Harvest, like Lost Horizon, is a so-called "feel good" movie but it shows that you don't have to have all that other X and R rated rubbish to make a good film. Unfortunately the morons running the movie business these days don't get it ... they think they have to try and out-shock us with every subsequent release. The "F" word is so common on TV these days that you don't even blink and they are pushing the boundaries even more so who knows what will be next!

I'm not a wowser by any stretch of the imagination but I am thouroughly sick to death of the rubbish dished up as entertainment by people who have no moral standards and even less talent.

Just my thoughts for what they are worth.

The Tibetan Rug

During Ian and my recent trip to India, we spent about 9 days in Puttaparti which is the home of Sai Baba and also my friend Chris.

We dined at several eateries but the Little Tibetan Kitchen was one of our favourites. From its second floor position you could sit and watch the world go by (see our injaorbust blog).


Attached to the restaurant was a little shop where the owner of the restaurant (who was Tibetan) sold craft items of interest. On one wall was a beautiful hand-made Tibetan rug which he told me was used in temples where they were hung across the ceiling. I became mesmerised by this hand-crafted rug and wanted to buy it but the news from home was, "There is no where to put it!" So I left India without the rug.


But when I got home it continued to bug me and I knew I had to have the rug. So, through the efforts of my friend Chris, it was duly purchased and sent back here where it now hangs on the ceiling of the Purfleet Annex.

And That Was 2006 ... !!!

Well here it is, the 31st December 2006, my mum's 93rd birthday ... Happy Birthday Mim ... and both she and I have survived another year. Frankly I think she will outlast me but that's another story.

It has been quite a year on many fronts, both at home and in the world in general. The Sunday papers are full of the Saddam Hussain execution and I for one join in the millions who wish him a speedy descent into hell. No doubt the bleeding hearts will carry on about the death penalty and all that but Saddam was a cancer on society and like all cancers, had to be cut out and destroyed.

Anyway, as I look back on the year I find a couple of significant events in our corner of the world. I guess my biggest thrill for the year was going to India back in September with my mate Ian Finlayson. The trip of a lifetime and although the Himalayas were shrouded in cloud, there were other things that made up for that. Meeting Tamkey the Tibetan monk and his sidekick Lekshey was one of the highlights of not only the trip but of my life. We correspond by email regularly and his simple, gentle words are a calming force in my otherwise often frantic life.

Of even more significance for 2006 is the fact that Nicholas and Liz escaped uninjured when his Hilux rolled in the wet conditions on the first Sunday Ian and I were away in Darjeeling. They didn't tell me until I returned and I don't even want to think about the consequences if they had been injured but suffice to say, maybe the Himalayan gods were shining all the way back here on that fateful day.

Andrew (Tip) and Heidi were engaged after his proposal on the 7am Sydney to Coolangatta Virgin Blue flight. Once again, this was while I was away so I don't know what that all means. Anyway, congratulations to them both.

We were all anxious at the news that my step-brother Max has a serious illness and we all wish him the best in the difficult months ahead. If you are into it, a prayer wouldn't go astray.

Except for those memorable events it was otherwise, a pretty normal year. A few birthdays, anniversaries and family events rounded out the important stuff. Who knows what 2007 will bring. Maybe some of Tamkey's compassion and gentleness will rub off on me and maybe I will handle things a bit better. That's my resolution anyway.

Have fun and be safe.......

So this is what Rain looks like!

I'm not sure if anyone actually reads all this waffle but for what it's worth, I hope you had a pleasant Christmas and I wish you a safe and happy New Year. Hard to believe that 2007 is only days away. Was a time when I reckoned if I made it to 2000 I would have done well.

Anyway, as most people realise, we've had a one in a whatever-hundred years drought in Australia (who kept any records all those years ago!) and we're down to 30-something percent in our main Sydney Dam, Warragamba. The morons running the show have the foresight of a house-fly and I reckon they spend most of their time praying for rain hoping we won't string them up when the water finally runs out. But we have our own little water storage project happening here at The Purfleet Annex and as I write a bloody great thunderstorm has just passed through with hail and rain and wind and all those other natural wonders. The smell of fresh ozone lingers in the garden and the birds have ventured back to sing their thanks for a thorough drenching. Even Toka looks happy.


In keeping with the Balinese theme of our garden and having just returned from the Himalayas I was keen to hoist a couple of Tibetan prayer flags. So Simon and I ventured out to Maraylya and grabbed a couple of bamboo poles (each about 20 feet long) and erected them on the Bali Hut. Sensational ... even after a thunderstorm!!!

In Our Lifetime

My recent post about the moon landing and the momentous events that have occurred in my lifetime got me to thinking ... always dangerous ... What other important events, discoveries, milestones and inventions have happened in your lifetime. To start the ball rolling let's start from 1906, exactly 100 years ago this year, and see what we can come up with.

The kind of things are those that will go down in history as important events and people will read about them in hundreds of years time. They should be events that have happened IN YOUR LIFETIME not just the past 100 years.

To jog your memory here are some of the things on my list ...

The First Man in space
Man Landing on the Moon
The destruction of the Berlin Wall
The Beatles
Finding the Titanic

Leave your list of things that have happened in your lifetime as a comment and we'll see where we end up.

Anna's B&B Redcliffe

My Brisbane client MTAI hold their annual Christmas party in late November each year and I've been to the last eight but this year is their 20th Anniversary so a big event was planned. Liz had 4 days off so she decided to come along for the ride but MTAI CEO Terry Behan graciously invited Liz to the gala dinner to be held at the exclusive Brisbane Club.

It was a chance to take Liz's new Mazda 3 for a good run and we'd see Mim along the way so we headed north on Monday and drove through to the Twin Towns at Tweed Heads where we stayed for a couple of nights. The resort is sensational and world class so we can highly recommend it. The cost is not much more than what the local motels are charging for a bare-bones room with old facilities. The buffet breakfast in Signatures restaurant is worth the price of admission alone.

A couple of years ago I read an article in the SMH Travel Section about Anna's B & B at Redcliffe on Brisbane's north side. So I booked online and we arrived at Anna's on Wednesday. It's located just one street back from Sutton's Beach and only a short walk from the main coastal township of Redcliffe.

The two chooks (garden ornaments) guarding the entrance is an indication that this is not an ordinary B & B and indeed Anna Joyce's penchant for the unusual can be seen everywhere from the detailed figurines adorning the bedside tables to the daily feeding of the young magpies at the kitchen window.

There are 3 guest rooms, each with their own ensuite and comfortable beds but the attention to detail was not lost on us as we admired the fresh soft towels and washers tied in white silk ribbon carefully placed on the pillows.

Breakfast is served on the upstairs balcony and it's self-serve but fresh yogurt and cereal is available followed by a full cooked breakfast which puts to shame the normal scraps served up at most motels.

As well as excellent accommodation you get to meet a real character, Anna Joyce, who has lost none of her Irish accent and she will enthrall you with wonderful stories of her childhood in Ireland and other interesting times in her life. We could spend hours chatting with her and next time we will.

Redcliffe itself is an interesting seaside town with a swag of eateries and coffee shops and it's only about 45 minutes from the centre of Brisbane. Definitely a place to stay out of the city and we will certainly be staying at Anna's next time.

Thanks Anna for a very enjoyable stay at your excellent B & B.

Here's the website for those who are interested... Anna's B & B

Try This Neat Trick

Here's a neat site with a challenge...

www.milaadesign.com/wizardy.html

Give it a try and then, tell me how they do it!!!

I know, but can you figure it out?

The Pink Wall

Couple of nights ago the boys and I went to the see the Pink Floyd Experience at the Enmore theatre in Sydney. All of us being rusted-on Pink Floyd fans (even Charlie who was born the same year as the last genuine Pink Floyd tour to Sydney) we were keen to check out this New Zealand PF tribute band.

The gig was billed as the most authentic PF band touring today so we forked out $65 each and hoped something pretty special. Well, at the end of the night, we reckon the show should have been billed as a Pink Floyd "The Wall" musical performed by a group of average musicians with a lot of extra theatre thrown in. Ok, there was indeed a wall, 124 cardboard boxes stacked across the stage as the show progressed, and there were some pretty spectacular lighting effects, but it didn't quite get there for us.

Fact is, The Wall only has about 3 decent tunes in the whole thing. Most of it is Roger Waters whinging about who stuffed him up during his life. So the show was mainly The Wall plus a couple of extra songs from Dark Side and of course, the almost obligatory Wish You Were Here anthem. Including interval of 20 minutes the Pink Floyd Experience runs to about 3 hours and frankly, we all reckoned we could have spent our time better doing something else. A Pink Floyd Experience ... I don't think so.

Now if you really want to see the definitive Pink Floyd tribute band then Shine On - The Pink Floyd Show is a must for any Pink Floyd purist. These guys perform rarely but we saw them at the Doyalson RSL back in August and trust me, close your eyes and you'd think it was the real thing.

I Wuzz There!

The Aussie movie The Dish was on TV tonight and although I've seen it a few times it still brings back memories of those magical days back in 1969, when I was in Year 12 at High School and half the school crowded into the theatre to watch Neil Armstrong step onto the moon.

The images were grainy and not like the crystal clear TV pictures of today but while I watched the film I had a thought. In all of history ... I was there when the FIRST man flew in space and I was there when the FIRST man stepped on the moon. I have lived in interesting times.


I watched Uri Gagarin's Sputnik streak across the Sydney night sky on April 12 1961 and I watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon on July 20 1969. Amazing stuff even after all these years.

Is That It?

I do enjoy a good joke or funny story and indeed I've been known in days past to dish up a couple of hours worth of rib-ticklers from blonde to blue. Indeed as a young bloke 30 years ago I had few peers when it came to joke telling and that's no idle boast even if I do say so myself. However the years have not been kind, memory loss as you get older is real folks, and these days I almost need a secretary to take notes and remind me of the best funnies.

And there are few stand up comics who can get my attention, I've heard them all before and it seems to me that most of the so-called new breed of comedians rely totally on embarassing toilet and anatomical humour for most of their material. Not that there's anything wrong with that but they need to be told well and they don't need to be the main theme of the act.

Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano and Billy Crystal are three of the best live comedians these days I reckon and I've never really been impressed with Irish import Jimeoin who is big in Australia and I'm stuffed if I know why. I think it says more about the audience than the performer. Anyway, last night we went to Panthers to see Jimeoin Live.

Jim old mate, I know you are Irish but you've been here for a few years now and you really should ditch the mumbling Irish accent. For most of the 2 hour show I couldn't understand a word he said... he mumbled in some unintelligible cross between Irish Brogue and Aussie English and I could see others in the packed Evan Theatre were as underwhelmed as we were. The sight gags were ok but the whole show never really got going and although there were a few good laughs, it didn't rock the place at all. At the end of 2 hours I was asking, "Is that it?"

Jim's first outing in an Australian movie The Craig was a big letdown and unfortunately his latest live show wasn't any better.

But, Big Sis Wendy and Bro Nick were good company and it's always good to see them so it was a good night all the same.

Best Pizza in the Mountains?

So ok, by now you reckon I am a food nut. Well I can't argue that I do like food and in fact one of the first jobs I had even before I left school was learning cookery at Zachary's Restaurant up at Terry Hills. I even started working at Qantas Flight Catering when I left school but the low pay and production line style of cooking left me cold. I did however enjoy the Lobster Thermidore or Lobster Newburg we would have on freshly baked bread rolls for morning tea, sitting in the flight deck of a 707. Those were the days before jumbo jets and all the airport security. Anyway, I digress...

Another favourite is a good pizza and fortunately after trying many of the pizza joints around Penrith and the lower Blue Mountains I found Monte's Pizzeria at Blaxland... (15A Great Western Highway Blaxland, just next to the Glenbrook Hotel 02 4739 6969)


Nick and son Joel run this award winning pizzeria which has been featured in the SMH Good Food Guide and has a loyal local following. They will do your traditional pizzas but you can also get one from their popular Tropical Gormet Menu. Islander Special and Reef-N-Fruit are sure to please as are any of the standard pizzas ... my favourite is Monte's Special with the lot but not a word to my Cardiologist!

These guys are the real deal and their pizzas are sensational but as always, it's the people who make it special and Joel and Nick are friendly and always pleasant ... just plain good blokes!

35 Years Ago...

35 years ago ... on the 13th November 1971 to be exact, I and 129 other fresh-faced hopefulls entered the NSW Police Academy at Bourke Street Redfern and became Class 129 of the NSW Police Academy.

On Saturday we had our 35th Reunion at the Arms of Australia Hotel in Penrith and despite the ravages of time which saw the passing of a few and the incarceration of several others, about 60 or 70 of us turned up to remember the good old days when the local copper was not always liked but was almost always respected... even by the hoodlums and crims.

Anyway, the following Rogue's Gallery is evidence of those who managed to attend... just click on Lone and Anita's image...

Class 129 Reunion

Tip and Heidi's Engagement Bash

Well after 3 years, Tip and Heidi decided to put us all out of our misery and they announced their Engagement. Actually it was a bit more involved and Andrew proposed to Heidi during a flight to Coolangatta back in September. I was in India and missed the excitement but it was all hands on deck last Saturday night when the formal Engagement Party got going.

Click on the image to see all the party pics.

Tip and Heidi's Engagement

All the India Trip Photos

Click the Photo to go to our Web Gallery.

Ian and Dave's India Trip Photos

Click this link for our Inja or Bust Weblog