Friday 4th May 2018

It’s been a busy few days since I docked back in Melbourne.   I wanted to go visit Ray as much as I could but I also wanted to delve back into the genealogy of our family.

Our family come from two English on Mum’s side and an Irish and Scottish on Dad’s side.   I knew about my Grandfather and Grandmother Best, So went up to the Cemetary where they were buried and got a photo.   My Mum, Dad and brother Jim were buried there too so went and photographed their details too.  They don’t have a headstone,  just two plaques in the lawn Cemetary which is the newer version of burials.

As I was there I went looking for Lissie’s Mum and Dad too.  I had attended Rudi’s Funeral and knew where I thought the plaque was but had never found it.  This day I was determined and began walking up and down in the area.  It took ages, but finally, success and there they were.  Just as I found them one of the Cemetary staff came up to me.  I was so elated, I said “i’ve Found them.”   “Oh” she said. “I saw you looking and noticed from your van you were from Q’land and thought you might have needed some help”.  People are so nice aren’t they?

The next day I needed to go  to Coburg on the other side of Melbourne.  I set the smart navi because all the roads are different now with freeways and tunnels etc.  I am SO grateful to this smart navi that directed me onto major roads I had no idea of, but eventually I could see ahead of me a large very old Cemetary.  I turned into the gate but there was no building for information.

i had my Great Grandfather’s name and date of death but without help, I had buckley’s of finding him.  I drew up behind a truck where a worker was putting tree branches into the back of his truck and asked for the information place.  They no longer have one, as all the Melbourne cemeteries have been split up into North and South and administrated from just major places.

This kind man, took my information, made two phone calls, then I followed him in my van to where we could get to the closest place, then we walked to the site.   There was no headstone and somehow I didn’t think there would be, just a metal number hammered into the ground, but due to the age only a tiny bit showed.   He was going to his truck to get a shovel to expose the number better, but my van was closer and he used mine.  When he exposed the number, he then cleared the dirt from around the actual numbers so they were clearly defined and also took a photo of me there.   He was just so helpful and kind that yesterday I rang his office and commended him.

Being in the area I then went and visited ny friend and mentor Norma.  Norma is now in her 90’s and lives in a Nursing home.  She was having her lunch when I arrived but knew me immediately and her face broke into the widest smile.  She kept saying. “ I can’t believe it” and holding my hand.I continued on my Cemetary search and headed to the Old Melbourne Cemetary where my great grandmother was buried with her mother who died two years before her.   These were the Irish McDermotts who came out in 1830’s as assisted migrants.  Either their Catholic Parish paid their way or the farmer they were to work for did.  They then had to work to pay back their fares.   My great grandmother was 18 months old when they berthed in Sydney.   She married Edward Joseph Norman who came from Great Yarmouth in England.  Both Margaret Norman and her mother Bridget McDermott died some years before Edward so he may have moved to Coburg.  I will have to investigate.

Of course the traffic was horrendous, but I did manage to drive into the Cemetary and after a great deal of difficulty to find their headstone, though does need cleaning.

I will continue later.

Sun.29th/Mon 30th April, 2018

Sunday was another beautiful day and Steven decided we would go to South Friendlies beach so he could do some snorkeling for abalone.   Now that was some track we drove in on.   It twisted and turned and had huge man-built humps in the road – to stop water erosion.   The 4WD climbed up these humps, then down and then up again.  Steven assured me my van could have handled it but I did wonder, However on our way back out, a tour group on quad bikes met us and they were managing just fine.

Steven took off to walk a way around this deserted beach to where there was a reef fairly close in and then he swam out.  I was hard pressed to see him in the water with my eyes and the binoculars were no help, so I settled down with my book.  I was reading a book by Bob Brown and was certainly in the right place to read it.

Steven returned with 2 abalone.  You can only take two when it is recreational fishing/snorkeling.   He had packed lunch so we sat on the beach to enjoy it and the scenery.

That night we walked together on the beach as the sun was setting.  A young couple just added to the photo.This was my last night as I would be on the boat coming back to Melbourne the next night.

Monday 30th April.

Wd were up early this morning as Steve had to go back to work and I to drive back to Devonport.   I hated saying goodbye to him.   I decided to go via Bicheno, up the Elephant Pass to St Mary’s, then on to Devonport.    The Elephant Pass is another windy road up a mountain and from afar the mountain is meant to resemble an elephant.   At the top is a pancake place that has been there for many years and is quite famous.   I stopped for lunch as had been told it had beautiful views.   However no longer.  Seems new neighbours who are “greenies” and have allowed their trees to grow and block out the view.

It was a lovely drive through the valley from St Mary’s till I eventually met up with the main highway.   I arrived in Devonport just in time to get in line to board.  Had a good sleep in a much smaller cabin with two bunk beds.   I hadn’t realised there were two Spirit of Tasmania’s and this one was the first one built.

Next morning I did remember though as we had to reverse out, then around to go up the ramp.   I am definitely not a good reverser,  but the fellows are very good – “no worries love, you’ll be right, just watch me”.    I did and no problems at all – as happened last time.   In the second vessel, you just drive on and drive off.

I headed to Sandy to see Ray and Lissie.

Catching up still – 26/27 April 2018

Thursday 26 April.

Steven had taken three days off whilst I was there which was wonderful, so he thought we might go camping to Weldborough.  I was to take my van and he his 4WD.  He’d sleep in his swag under his awning.   I left before him as he had things to do first and so I found my way to Weldborough and pulled into the camping area behind the pub there.   Lovely green grass with poplar trees, which were changing to their autumn trees along the side France and dotted throughout the ground.    I had camped near a fire place – of which wood was supplied – and Steven pulled in beside.

We were here for Steven to do some mountain bike rides.   This involves driving to the top or near top of a mountain – we were surrounded by mountains – then riding your bike down these hand-hewn tracks to the bottom or wherever the finish is.  This was when I discovered I would go with Steven up to the starting point, then when he took off, I would drive back to the campsite!!    He sure gives me challenges that boy.  His 4WD is huge and the terrain included one way forestry track (please let me meet no-one), then wider gravel rosd and finally a very windy  bitumen road.  I set off hoping I would find the right roads and did, so I was pretty chuffed.   Took Steve 1 1/2 hours to get back down.   We lit our fire and sat down to read before going into the pub for tea.  It was freezing cold and Steven had discovered he had the wrong sleeping bag in his swag, but fortunately I had two heavy rugs and he was most  grateful.

I thought we would be going home the next day but Steve had a more strenuous ride to do.   This time he would ride from a mountain near where we were camped (forestry traces again) down into Derby the next town further along.   Once again I drove back down, then continued up the main road for a 15 minute forest walk.  It was an amazing walk through a myrtle tree forest area that told a story as it went about these amazing trees that are SO old and the story is told by Grandmother Myrtle.

The myrtle trees are so big I could not get a picture of one but the top R/H picture is the base of one.

I drove on to Derby through more winding roads.   Derby was a mining town that is no longer in use and the town was dying.   Someone came up with the idea of making mountain bike tracks and so these tracks were made by people clearing tracks down mountains.  The word got out and so riders began coming to challenge themselves.  A whole new industry developed and now people come from all over the world and this little town has re-invented itself.   A bus will take you and your bike to the start of tracks for a cost, then collect you and take you back to your accommodation, coffee shops and cafes abound and Derby is once again on the map.  How about that!  Below is a picture of this quaint little town.  Steven’s ride was to take 4 to 6 hours but he arrived in Derby in 2 hrs.We drove back to Weldborough and got the fire going as it was very cold, then off to the pub for tea again.   I made myself a hot water bottle and retired to bed, Steve in his swag once again.   The sunsets were glorious.

Next morning I went to have a shower and there was no water – the pipes had frozen.

We cooked up crumpets for breakfast and a hot cuppa, then packed up and headed back to Coles Bay.   On the way back I stopped off at a pretty beach area and found these rocks positioned in a semi circle – i’ve no idea if they were positioned deliberately or are natural, but whatever they were spekky to my eyes.

Also there was this amazing “cloud” which in fact was from a controlled burn.

Monday 23rd April – Wednesday 25th

Steve and Mel were both working on Monday and Tuesday, so I entertained myself, walking along the beautiful beach and having coffee at either the resort at the base of The Hazard’s looking back over the Bay, or at the other end of the Bay in a coffee shop looking out to The Hazards.

 

You can see the resort I am walking to in the first photo and this little wallaby patiently stood as I passed by on my way to buy a coffee.  The next photo is taken from just below the cafe I walked to at the othe end of the bay for  coffee.  You can actually see way on L/H side of photo below, the resort which is very well designed to fit in amongst the greenery.Such a beautiful place to just sit and reflect.

Wednesday 25 th April.

I always go to a Service on Anzac Day,  but not this day.  Melsie had left to go to a training Session in the Blue Mountains, and being such a glorious day, Steven invited some friends to join us on a boat trip out to an island in the bay.  Ula, a lovely young girl he met when he and Mel would go on the Clean-up of all the bays on Tasmania’s west coast not able to be acessed by vehicles, and Matt, who began the Clean-up, his wife Sophie and their two delightful girls.

I felt very privileged to be in the company of people who not only believe in caring for our environment, but who actively pay their way and give up their holidays to do something tangible.   The amount of waste is incredible and in many ways disheartening.  Every single piece of rubbish, – plastic, rubber, rope, you name it is there and is counted, weighed and categorised.  It comes from Australia, Africa right up the coastline and from as far away as South America.

Well what a day we had.  We motored towards the island passing a tiny penguin who dived as we passed (what was it doing out in the morning?) and then saw some sticks sticking up in the water.  Steven slowed down and we all stared.  “They are seals”  said Steven, and so they were.  Lolling in the water with their fins sticking up. In the photo you will see on the right just one seal with its head up.How good was that?  We were all chuffed.

At the island, Steven took the boat in as far as he could and we eased down in the water to almost my knees and waded in.  It was a beautiful day and a treed very high hill lay before us with a creek flowing in from the right.  At almost the top which is solid rock, there is a shape that looks like a sleeping bear – with a lot of imagination, I must say.  We were to climb that.

So off we set.  A well defined track that gently wove up the hill, then it got to where we had to climb over a few trees that had fallen.  I let the others go ahead as they were all faster but I was doing fine.  Eventually I broke out above the trees and could see the so-called “sleeping bear”.   Now I was amongst large granite rocks I had to scramble around.  Eventually I came to a huge one I had to climb over and there were no foot holds or anything I could hold onto to hall myself up.  I tried a few times,  but gave up and found a rock I could sit on and just enjoy the view.This is just to show how high up I got.  After half an hour later I started back down and eventually Steven caught up with me.  Back on the boat everyone shared their contributions for a delicious lunch.   It was as we were eating that this enormous manta ray came right up to the boat.  I had never seen one so big.  The photo is not a good one, but does show the size.  Well actually it doesn’t but believe me it was gigantic!

After lunch we set off again to another island.  Here Steven decided to dive for scallops.  Into his wet suit, and with his mask and snorkel he dived down 7 meters – so Matt said.

He would hand up the scallops out of his orange bag then dive down again.  They must be a certain size and so Rosie is, very seriously, measuring them.  We had them for entree that night.

The journey back was faster and bumpier as the wind had changed and there were some decent waves.  Little Gipsy settled herself snuggley down between the large esky and the side of the boat and rode them out with a grin.

Catching up – back to Sat. 21.4.18

Forgot to say that when Steve got home from work on 20th, we took a walk on the beach at sunset – the sunsets have been glorious.Steve had the weekend off so in the morning he went surfing and I sat on the beach and read.   Mel came home 20 hrs. after leaving Port Hedland,  but did she rest?  No!  They were off paddle boarding and I took my chair down and watched.

 

Looks like those are both Steven.  I’ll try and find Mel.

 

There she is.   Both of them never stop, they are always out doing something energetic.   This beach is where their block is, and of course we checked out the block and the views.

 

The view with Mel in it is looking at the beach they were paddle boarding at and the other two is the view of the lagoon looking down their block.  Now with the plan in place it is getting prices and seeing if they can afford the house as per plan or if they have to modify it.   I wish I had loads of money to help out but I haven’t.

Sunday 22nd April, 2018

Next morning Steve got a phone call to say that a dolphin had been washed up dead on the beach so out we went.  As always a crowd had arrived.  It had been badly damaged by what looked like a boat propeller.  Half of one end of its tail was cut off and there were brutal deep cuts down its back on one side.  The poor creature was heaved onto a trailer and covered up.  It would be stacked with ice till the Marine investigators from Hobart arrived.  Poor thing and all were upset – dolphins always bring out a good response with people whereas sharks don’t.Another walk along the beach and I was fascinated with the oyster catcher and the Southern gull which had caught something to eat – may have been a skink.

 

Tuesday 1st May 2018 FF

It is the beginning of May and this morning I arrived in Melbourne aboard The Spirit of Tasmania, a whole 10days since I last wrote.   I have not had reception on either my iPad or my iPhone and when that happens you realise just how isolated that makes you feel.   I will start back at when I arrived in Devonport.

Friday 20th April.

The boat docked at 6.30am and before long I was on my way heading out of Devonport bound for Coles Bay and my son Steven and his wife Mel.  I fell in love with the highways to Launceston and then on the main road to Hobart, though of course I would eventually be turning East to Coles Bay.   Tassie’s highways consist of one lane going each way, but every 5 klms there is a long, long passing lane – I clocked them as being I to 1 1/2 klms long.   Often these passing lanes wound up hills too,  but allowed faster traffic to overtake with no problems at all.  I was very impressed, and I never saw a frustrated driver on my travels.

Eventually I came to Campbelltown about middle distance from Hobart and Launceston.  It is a historic town and so I stopped to take a walk around.   Sadly there were a lot of empty buildings and most of the shops were food/coffee outlets for the passing traffic.

There was a statue of a lady whose name now escapes me, but she and her husband and two boys immigrated in the 1830’s, after four of their six children died of tuberculosis and they were advised to go to a warmer climate.  Her husband went ahead, but Kathleen (think that was her name) stayed behind.  She walked thousands of miles buying sheep from different flocks in different towns, marking them with a tag.  It was four years before she and the boys arrived here.  There are still progeny of those sheep in this area.

Walking along the high side of the Main Street I came across a line of bricks set on the footpath edge.  Each brick had the name of a convict, their crime, their age, who they married and their sentence.  You may need to turn your head on an angle to read them,  but here is a sample.  The sentences seem horrifically long when you consider the crimes.

There was a bridge of red brick built by the convicts, aptly named “The Red Bridge”.  It is beautifully constructed and is the oldest convict built bridge in the whole of Australia, still used on a major highway.  I thought it very impressive.

I will enlarge the sculptured tree stump, on the left, which is done using a chain saw. When I was over here about four years ago I came across a whole avenue in a small town done this way.  The trees had to come down – can’t remember why now – and so the town hired someone to sculpture each and every tree.  He came from Hobart if my memory serves me correctly and each tree told the story of one of the people who left the town to fight in WWI and beside these enormous structures was the story of those men.  I remember being very tearful as I looked at these men and read their stories, some incredibly heartbreaking.  I dont know if the same man did this one.

Just out of the town, I turned east and headed towards Coles Bay.  It was a delightful drive through farmland then forests of gum trees.  Finally I was there and The Hazards as these beautiful rock mountains are called dominated

I drove to the Ranger centre but Steve wasn’t there.  He and some others were out in the boat visiting remote campsites and making sure they were clean and tidy, so I continued on to his house.  Melsie wasn’t there but would return from Pt. Headland in W.A. the next day.   She works in all manner of places and four days later left for the  Blue Mts.  She returned yesterday evening so I only saw her for a short time.

At 8pm, Steven and I took off for the lighthouse which was the highest point in  Coles Bay you can drive to.   The night sky was crystal clear and it seemed millions of stars sparkled and I was entranced, but we weren’t there to see this, we were there to see the Auroa Australis.   You cannot see the colours with your naked eye, only if you set your camera on a special setting and have a certain lens.   What we saw were bands of long vertical white wavy lines – quite wide – moving across the sky- almost like a mist. It as a magical and slightly unreal.   A local told me later that in the 15 years he has been watching he has only seen colours with his naked eye twice.  However when we got back, Steven checked out his mobile and everyone of those who actively seek this pheromone had their photos up with glorious colours of blue, pink, green and yellow.  People all over Tassie saw it and some on Phillip Island in Victoria did too.

Somehow there is always something different to see or do when I am with Steven.

 

 

Wednesday 18 th/ Thursday 19th March

Yesterday, Wednesday I left Sandra heading back to Sandringham.  On the way I stopped off to see Sandra and David.   We go back to our teenage PFA days.   In those days everything we did revolved around our local Presbyterian Church.  We played tennis as juniors riding our bikes to the various other Churches in our local surround of several suburbs, to play against them.   Once we got to 14, we could join the social PFA group and the Senior Tennis  Club, some of us played both Senors and Juniors Tennis for while.   All my friends were at least one year older than me,  but no matter I joined PFA with them.   We met every Friday night and once a month we held a dance – how I loved that.  On Saturday nights we would all go by train to other dances in our area, mostly PFA but not always.   Of course in the summer we all met down the beach most weekends and every Sunday nights at Church.

There were five of us girls and three boys, who were and have remained close friends.  Of course different girls and boys friends of us would come and go over time.   David was one of those three boys and he married Sandra who went to the same school as some of my close girlfriends, so we have known each other for 60+ years.    I rang to see if they were home and they were.  David stood at the entrance to their street waving madly.   Hugs all around – it was just lovely.

We chatted catching up on everyone I had seen – Marion and Jeanette and Janet who I hoped to see later in Adelaide.  Win the last of us five, lives in England, and I visit her each time I go over as each of the others have done too.

Next I went to see  another friend who just lived around the corner from me.  Betty is older than me being my eldest brother’s age, but we have all kept in touch.  Sadly she wasn’t home but I left a message on her phone.

Another PFA friend Eileen – who married one of the three boys, Graeme – is struggling with cancer and so I rang and had a long chat.  We shall catch up when I come back from Tassie.

On to Sandy to see Ray and then up to Lissie.  I was to go out for tea with Lissie and Jo my other sister-in-law,  but I had an upset tummy so stayed home and went to bed early.  We’ll go out on my return.

This morning, I met up with Eve a friend from my secondary school days.   Years ago about two years after Bruce died, a friend asked me to join her on a tour of Italy.  At Verona, we were in a Chemist shop and having trouble trying to decide how to decipher the Italian on the package we thought we wanted.  We were discussing this between us when a lady came from.behind a shelf and asked if she could help as she too was an Australian.  I completely lost interest in what I was buying and asked where she came from.   “Brighton, Victoria” she replied and I said. “Oh I went to school in Brighton”.  So did she – same school.  Amazingly when we said our names we had been best friends during our time at Firbank and Eve was the other in our group of three.  I had not seen either since we all left school and Janet has lived in Italy for many many years.    She asked if I had contact with Eve and I didn’t but I knew my brother Ray did, so the contact with the three of us began and continues.  Eve and I.  Life is often amazing, I find.Who would have thought we would have made contact again with a freakish meeting in Italy?

Lis and I pushed Ray home to have lunch with us today sitting in the garden which was lovely.  When we pushed him back, Lis left us and Ray showed me a box of old letters and bits he had cut out of the newspapers over the years.   He wanted me to look at a typed letter.  In actual fact it was a diary he had written in 1960/61 when he and a friend David (another David) went to Tasmania and did the Cradle Mt. walk which I had done with Marion and Eileen the year before.  In it he refers to me throughout when they stopped at same places, to camp, for meals etc.

I read it out to him and we were both transferred back to that time.  It was wonderful as we both recalled that amazing walk we did and then up the East Coast before flying back to Melbourne.  Marion had to fly back earlier than us, but Eileen and I were going to hitchhike up the coast, however a Scout Leader who we had met on our walk, drove us.  Ray and David rode David’s motor scooter and he noted in his diary the amount of miles he did and that they used 16 gallons of fuel.  It was just wonderful to share that with Ray and he was quite emotional about it.

It was time to head back and pick up my van and drive to Port Melbourne where I would drive the van on board the ship and we would head to Tassie.   I drove to the terminus and joined the 3 lane queue.  The vehicle two cars in front had a bit of trouble  and his vehicle was well and truly searched, the next one had a thorough search too, yet the same gentleman was very nice to me.   However he did “dispose” of one of my gas bottles as it was over it’s due-by date, so will have to buy another,  but that is all good.

Then I was sent ahead of all the other cars and up a really high ramp – my van is on deck five – and my cabin is on deck eight.  I have already met one of the people (ladies) sharing my 4 berth cabin and the engines are going, so we are starting our trip.  The Captain has said we shall have a smooth trip.  Ohh it is so exciting and I’ll see Steve and Mel tomorrow.

Time now for some tea.

 

 

Tuesday 17th April 2018This morning

This morning I was up to say goodbye to Christine as she headed off to work, then I followed Allie to where he had to leave his car to be serviced and then drove him back home.   It was when we got back that I realised I didn’t know where my mobile phone was- certainly not where it should have been.  Allie suggested we might be able to find it from my iPad.  Of course I had no idea how to do that – hopefully I do now.  So using my iPad he rang the number and it rang in my ear – it was in my van, but where?  You see these new beaut hearing aids ring directly in my ear, but no-one else can hear it and so no direction.   Al suggested I take my hearing aids out, which I did but the phone never rang again – it had run out of charge.  Then just as I decided to leave it as at least I knew it was somewhere in my van, I saw it on the floor, having blended in with the mat.  All good.  Tim came over just before that and gave me a big hug, Stewart and Amy the night before as I wouldn’t see them again.  A big hug from Allie and I drove out their gate.   It is always a joy to stay with this family of mine and always hard to leave them.

I headed towards Tooradin and turned off to Pearcedale where we had once lived.  As I got closer I was amazed to see acres under vegetables, all of which had been sheep country when we were there in the late 60’s.   I turned off to South Cranbourne, for we had been there for 3 years.    18 months after we built our house and moved in, with Steven one and Karen just born, a note was shoved under our front door.  It was from the State Electrical Commission stating they were acquiring our land and we had to move.   We had 5 acres and the power lines going to Lysart’s in Hasting would be going over our property.   No-one else was affected like we were, as the other blocks were 20 acres running a different lengthways to ours and the lines only went through the back of their properties.   We were devastated but had no choice and had to sell to the SEC at market value, but were able to buy back our almost new house cheaply, had it cut in two and moved down into the small Pearcedale community.    Now going back, there were only two huge power pylons and not the five that were meant to be built and what had been our block was completely unrecognisable.

I drove back into Pearcedale to find where we had moved our house to, but that was hard to find too, where in our time there had been few houses, now there were many and often lots of vegetation, but I eventually found it but only after having to turn and drive back.

Pearcedale itself in our time consisted of 2 milk bars, now there is an off road set of shops and the school is SO big, I could not find the small weatherboard building Steven and Karen attended.   I think it may have been demolished when this new very big school was built.   How things change over the years but I felt we had been there at the best time, when everyone knew everyone else and as a community, being small we all banded together.

Everywhere I went as I headed to Rye on the Mornington Penninsular – of which Pearcedale was part being at the top western area, – the small towns were now all so much bigger having spread out on all sides.    I turned off to go to Hastings, again much developed but the size of the Marina amazed me – so many boats.  Sadly I could not get high enough for the picture to see how far back this marina went.

On to Stoney Point  as this was where my Dad would go fishing.   Dad and some of his friends would hire a fisherman to take them out in Westernport Bay and he would drive our family there when arranging a fishing trip.  It actually didn’t look all that different.

It was time now to get to Sandra’s at Rye, so I set my smart navigational aid and headed from one side of the Penninsular right across to the other – from Westernport Bay, to Port Phillip Bay.   It was a lovely drive, quite windy at times, as I drove up to Red Hill now famous for its wineries, with bush beside me a lot of the way and then back down towards Dromana then the freeway that takes you directly to Flinders and Portsea.    I turned off towards Rye and my smart navi took me directly to Sandra.

I have known Sandra for around 40 years when as a Browne Guide Leader with the Girl Guide Assosiation, I became a Trainer of Leaders.  Sandra was the Training Secretary at Guide Headquarters in Melbourne and would arrange where and when I would do training weekends all around the Wimmera Region, and eventually around Victoria when we moved to Healesville.  When I became an Australian trainer I also trained in every State except NT, and even was lucky enough to go to New Zealand and India.

We became and have remained very good friends and in last couple of years she moved here where she has a sister after her Mum died.  When I arrived she took me to her favourite shops – op shops!   I think we visited five but seems there are 10 more in the area.   I now have five more books to take home to read but thankfully being in my van cannot take anything else.

Sandra has always had Siamese  cats, but.her old one died last year.  She decided to get another, but ended up with two kittens, now 8 months old.  Her house has loads of toys for these two, Jade and Coco, but tonight they have driven Sandra up the wall with their antics and I have been in fits watching.  She tells me they usually go to bed early, but tonight they climbed all around the telly, up onto tables and shelves all at top speed.  It was truly hilarious.

We watched a British series called “Waiting for God” – about two elderly people in a retirement home, and it was extremely funny at the same time being realistic.

Sandrawas worried I would be cold so I ended up with a heavy doona and two thick rugs – both the rugs were not needed!

Friday 13th APRIL – Monday 16 April

Can’t believe it but wrote the last blog as March, when of course it is APRIL! What a dill.

Friday I drove around Sandy beaches – as for me that really signifies my childhood home area.   Red Bl&uff Cliffs always was the sight in your mind that signified home and Sandringham.Sadly you can hardly see the cliffs which are way in the background.  Hopefully I will get a closer up photo before I leave.   As you can see the whole beach area is just beautiful.

I drove to where the Cerberus was scuttled many years ago.  Once it stood proudly out by the Heads to Port Phillip Bay, ready to protect Melbourne during wartime but now it is almost gone due to years of being a breakwater for Half Moon Bay.   When I was young much more of it was exposed and adventurous boys would swim out, clamber up and dive off it.   Now it lies just above the sea line, a rusted hull, most people not knowing it’s once proud history.  My brother Jim fought for many years to get it preserved, but he died never seeing his dream come to fruition.

Back to spend sometime with Ray, then Lis and I went to the pictures to see “The Greatest Showman” which I had seen before but I actually enjoyed it more the second time around.

Next morning I set off to go to my niece Christine, Al and their family down at Nyora, near Lang Lang, but first I wanted to visited The Australian Botanic Garden outside Cranbourne.

In 1975 Bruce and I lived at Pearcedale and sometimes went to Cranbourne, a small country town to visit the Dr there and do some shopping,  but mostly we went to Frankston.  Now I simply could not believe it.   No longer a small country town, this was a major city, surrounded by houses.  The brick building which in my day was the PostOffice still  stood on the corner which would take me to Pearcedale, so one building and behind that the race course, but nothing else could I recognise.

By now the wind was up and it was buffeting the van making it hard to drive.   In actual fact I have never driven in winds such as this.  I turned off to the Botanic gardens and drove through an avenue of natural Australian Bush, and it was like I was back in another world far removed from the city I had just driven through.  At the open car park, the wind was furocious and it began to rain as I scuttled to the Visitor’s Centre.

Due to the wind, the only section open was an area where Australian plants were propagated, I took a quick walk around and could get an idea of the beauty of the areas that had been created,  but it was not pleasant out there.  There should have been a bus running around the area,  but that was cancelled due to dangerous winds. So I had a coffee and looked out the window.   I will go back next time I am down this way.

You can’t walk on the lefthand side photo as it is depicting the red desert country, the second photo runs outside this area and is of a stream and vegetation, which widens and leads into a lake.   That is as far as I got.

I gave up and headed to Christine and Al’s place at Nyora.  I was on the South Gippsland Highway so travelling was good and the wind had died down somewhat which made travelling easier.  Lang Lang had grown quite substantially since my last visit.  Also I was puzzled by a huge hill like mound of soil – seems this area now has three sand mines and this is what has been dug up to get to the sand.

Finally I turned down their road and actually sailed past their gate.  There were so many cars there, plus a big boat.  I reversed and of course now the “children” are young adults and each has their own car and, in Stewart’s case, also a rather large boat.

I love coming here.  Always a great welcome from everyone, though Chloe is missing as she now works in Melbourne as a florist and she is very good too.  Allie is a carpenter and he and Christine together built their mud brick house.   At first they hoped to make their own bricks but their soil was not right for brick making, so they bought them in and Christine laid a great number of them even though pregnant at the time.   The worst part was the high sloping roof.   They’ve been here on several acres now for over 20years and the place is just beautiful.

The weather has changed and it is like winter has hit so out has come my singlet and thermals and I snuggle down under my doona in my van clutching my hot water bottle and sleep beautifully.  This morning Christine bought me a cup of tea as she headed off to work.

Christine and Al are both very creative people and their garden reflects this with mosaics everywhere  (Christine) and various types of woodwork done by Allie.  Yesterday Christine was having  mosaic workshop – her third – and is hoping to make this into a business.   I am not artistic in this way, but had a go and my wall hanging will go somewhere out in my garden when I get back home.   There were three of us there and we had a fun time with Christine being a great teacher, always positive and refusing to accept that her Auntie could not do this.  I could and did but just not as easily as my two new friends.

Christine is on the left helping Di with her moaiced tabletop.  Linda on the left did a great wall hanging with a fish and I did a garden.  It was a lovely day, with really nice people and delicious.

Tim had turned 20 just a few days prior, so we had a birthday tea with cake and candles, watched a couple of episodes of The Office which I have never seen before then I retired to my van.

Today I have managed to catch up on a few things plus searching through my van for the iPad power cable.  Hopefully it is on my bed at Lis’s.

 

 

 

Wednesday, 11th March, and Thursday 12thnMarch 2018.

Yesterday Ray and Lissie’s daughter Jackie arrived with Sam her 11 year old and their two year old black Labrador, Echo.    Her husband Tyson was already down at the Woodyard.

Due to Ray no longer being able to work, the Woodyard is being closed and Jackie was taking Ray down as there were some people coming to buy their firewood and Jackie needed Ray to help her with prices etc.    I meanwhile went off to the Dr. to have my flu injection.

Ray came back home for lunch then Lis and I pushed him back in his wheelchair, to where he is in Care.  No mean feat I can tell you.  I only did a bit at the end, but it was not easy.

Jackie and Sam returned in time for tea, having had a physically hard day loading the truck for Tyson, Jackie’s husband to take out and deliver, plus anyone who came in off the street for some wood.

After tea we watched some of the Commonwealth Games and marvelled at the level of fitness of the competitors.  I was so pleased to see the way the competitors congratulated the winners or commissorated with those who lost.  Sometimes I think gamesmanship is lost, but not so at these games.

Today I have caught up on some Probus work and also booked my passage to Tasmania to see Steve and Mel.   At one stage I thought I would not be going as I could get over but not back till mid May.  However rang the Spirit of Tasmania and the young man got me going when I wanted to returning on my chosen date too.  Cost a bit extra for a booking fee, but so what.?     I’m going, yeah!

Presently I am sitting in the sun in Ray’s room.   He’s asleep as Jackie and Sam took him for a walk this morning.