A most impressive property...

I never cease to amaze myself!  Some of today's pics are actually my own, as Philip has finally up/downloaded (I will never understand which is which) Picasa on this new computer so I no longer have to content myself with web photos (even though they were all terrific shots).  The thing that is amazing is that I accidentally discovered all I have to do to get the photo into the blog is make one click!  Previously I'd been saving each photo to a file, then fiddling round making about 20 clicks to get it in.


Today I went on another one of my suburb adventures, to Randwick, with a friend who showed me over the property where she was brought up as a child.  She is a member of Australia's leading bloodstock auctioneer family.  Took my breath away!

Oh darn!  My clever discovery doesn't work for any further photos - they automatically go into new blogs, so I've had to go through all the old rigmarole after all to get some more in.


The first two shots show the interior and exterior of the auction room, where zillions of dollars worth of horse flesh is traded several times a year.  They have another place in Melbourne as well.

This, of course, is the house (where my friend's aunt and cousin and family now live).

I am such a stickybeak - now look what I found online!

And this is the fig tree that the aunt and her husband planted on their wedding day.


Here's a pic from the web of an auction in progress:

I've had a break from the blog for a few days to get over the shock of the tragedy in Norway and then all the excitement of Cadel Evans winning the Tour de France.  Not that I'm particularly interested in sport, but by golly, this was some effort and I admire him tremendously.  And before that there was the James and Rupert Show, which I sat up all night to watch.  Life certainly is not dull.


Winifred, it seems you are the only one to be brave enough to make comments.  Where is everybody else????????

So much for stunning Sydney!

There's not much point getting out of bed when the weather's like this, but this morning Muffy succeeded in dragging me into the civilised world about 10.  When I looked outside to see what the weather was doing, I noticed the water lapping dangerously close to the edge of the pool. Since there's a downhill slope between the pool and my place, which is built a mere 1cm above ground, I immediately flew into panic mode.


I rang Philip at work to get instructions for pumping some water out and was mightily proud of myself - not to mention exceedingly surprised - at being able to find a lever atop a big sphere in the pump-house, press down on it, turn it 180 degrees, then, in a little box above the pump-house, switch off the middle of three switches.  Easy.  I let about 4cm of water run out, then reversed the procedure.


I didn't give it another thought till later in the afternoon, when I glanced out the window and saw the 4cm space at the top of the pool had expanded to about 34cm and was still going!!!!  Of course I rang Philip straight away and went over all the steps of the procedure again, but still the water kept gushing from a pipe at the side.  Philip made an early exit from the office and rang the pool man from the train.  He said it's not unknown for a pump to keep pumping even when it's switched off, especially if a gasket has blown and the valve has stopped functioning.  Oh goodness, I've never been so pleased to see Philip arrive home.  He banged and crashed about a bit and managed to stop the outflow till he can get the pool man to come in the morning.  


Breaking news (though not in the right order):
A helicopter has crashed a few kilometres away, killing two.

Oh dear.  How awful.  But why would anybody in their right mind go out in weather like this? the crash investigators rhetorically wondered aloud.

Where does time go?

It's six days since my last entry and I'm still exploring Sydney, while friends are coming and going to and from UK, Europe and US mainly, making my head spin.  You'd think they were just popping round the corner, not sitting on a plain for days at a time.  It would be a nightmare for me but they obviously enjoy it.  Mind you, my scenery is spectacular, so I'm quite content:

The CBD, where all the skyscrapers are, is actually quite small.  There are only two other places, North Sydney (just to the north of the bridge) and Chatswood (a bit further to the north, about halfway between Hornsby and the city) where you'll find skyscrapers - the rest of Sydney is pretty low.  The Botanic Gardens (where my son was married) is on the left.  One of my friends lives directly opposite the Opera House and this is her view (though from the ground).  She sometimes walks to work over the bridge and through the gardens.

This is a terrific view, stretching to the ocean.  I always take the train as it saves the hassle and expense of parking in the city and I enjoy the ride.  It takes about 45 minutes from Hornsby.  North is to the left.

Just fabulous!


Winifred, it would be lovely if you could pop in!


Please everybody, send me some photos of your area.

Still exploring locally

You won't get much change out of $3M Aus for this property, just a few minutes away (and I got this photo from the real estate site as I still can't upload my own photos).  It has - of course - a swimming pool and tennis court and if you want to look at the interior, go to:

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-wahroonga-107432583.


It's quite a relief not to be searching for a place ourselves, as we did for months, but I enjoy taking a peek at what's on offer every now and then, even those well out of our price range.  


Winifred, yes, you should explore Bristol more.  Every time (which is pretty often) I see Bristol on the telly I look like a hawk to see if you are walking down the street :-))  Do you ever watch 'Escape to the Country'?  I never miss this wonderful program that shows all those gorgeous houses in UK.  They are so different from ours.   


At long last I've started having an 'At home' on Sundays from 11 am.  (I had been thinking about doing this for the past 17 years and have now actually got round to it.)  Had two friends plus the family at the first one and we all enjoyed ourselves, chatting and eating and generally being very relaxed.  I mention it to all my friends and those who can turn up, do, and others will wander in on other Sundays.  Once the warm weather arrives it will be even nicer, sitting round the pool.

A day in the city

Yesterday I had a wonderful day in the CBD, looking at some of Sydney's beautiful buildings and visiting the Museum of Sydney to see a photographic exhibition by a woman who visited 52 suburbs over a year, spending a week in each.  (Much the same as I'm doing, but I'm only spending a few hours and do not plan to hold an exhibition!)  Here's the museum:

It's a beautiful blend of sandstone, glass and steel, tucked into a corner on the site of the first Government House.  I bought Australian books for my great-niece and nephew in London from the museum shop.  I was fascinated to learn how Jorn Utzen designed the Opera House sails - I hope you can see how he's divided and cut out parts of a sphere-like shape (on the wall plaque above the model):

Here's another building (c 1913) in the same street.  I wandered round this area, a stone's throw from Circular Quay with the bridge on one side and the Opera House on the other, for hours.

An ordinary day

I've always had a lot of trouble organising myself and have not improved in 68 years.  When I wake up in the morning I put Radio National on and could spend the entire day listening to it and following up discussions.  Or I could play the piano, paint, read, cook, play with Emma, phone friends, watch TV, walk, exercise, email, blog, google or even clean up.


I spend hours with my coffee trying to make up my mind what to do and more often than not end up doing absolutely nothing!  Talk about hopeless!!!!!


Today looks like being one of these days as it's nearly midday and I'm still in my pyjamas, undecided.  (For a while now I've been addicted to Dr Phil, so watch him every day at this time, never ceasing to marvel at the sheer stupidity of the average American and the good sense spoken by Dr Phil as he laughs all he way to the bank.  Would you reveal your darkest secrets, like having an affair with your best friend's husband or murdering your own, on international television??????????  Only in America...)


Still can't upload my own photos, so here are a couple I've found online for you.  They show Pyrmont Bridge in 1904 and 2003.  Can't believe the traffic then!  It's now for pedestrians only.  I might go there tomorrow and walk across, as I have an appointment with my GP, who is right near that tower with the round bit at the top.

I absolutely adore Sydney.

A bit more nostalgia...

I still can't upload my own photos.  (Think I'll have to sack my personal IT man.)  I've come to realise it doesn't really matter anyway, as I can always find what I want - and lots more - on the Web.  The other day I went to Leichhardt, where I used to go as a child to stay in the school holidays with relatives.  We were all as poor as churchmice and Mum, sister Kay and myself used to travel by steam train from the country where we lived, and pile into a little slum occupied by an aunt and uncle and their hundreds of children.  Today such little slums, tastefully renovated of course, go for at least $A1million.  The PO and Town Hall, built in 1880s, look exactly the same today.

I lived in Leichhardt in the mid 60s (when I was teaching), in a house with an Italian family, found through an ad in 'La Fiamma'.  I had a bedroom and kitchen upstairs and a bathroom way down the back.  Every time I'd go out, the landlord would change the light globes and then I would change them back again to ones that actually gave off light!


By way of contrast, there's a post modern steel and glass monstrosity, designed (?!) by an architect (though it could equally have been a sewer cleaner in my opinion), just down the road.  I'm sure Prince Charles would agree with me!

When I lived there, I was a volunteer for a now-defunct organisation that welcomed migrants and I used to go and visit Italian people to make them welcome and offer any assistance if needed.  That's when I started to learn Italian, though few of them actually spoke it, but a dialect.

Here's another bit of info from the Web:  Italian migration, which had begun in the 1920s, increased rapidly after WWII and Leichhardt became largely influenced by Italian culture, particularly the cafes, but also with the production of the newspaper "La Fiamma". Although the Italian population is decreasing in Leichhardt there is still a strong Italian influence on the suburb. 


On my recent visit I wandered into a wonderful bookshop - part of the ugly cinema complex - and ended up spending almost $100 on books for Emma.  (She and Hugo, together with Mummy and grandparents, arrived back this week from a month in Japan.)


Winifred, re your comments, I never cease to be amazed that there's not just standing room only in UK.  When googling to find our population to compare, I came up with this:

On 2 July 2011 at 12:30:00 (Canberra time), the resident population of Australia is projected to be:
22,640,081

This projection is based on the estimated resident population at 31 December 2010 and assumes growth since then of:

• one births every 1 minute and 46 seconds,
• one death every 3 minutes and 40 seconds ,
• a net gain of one international migration every 3 minute and 05 seconds , leading to
• an overall total population increase of one person every 1 minute and 37 seconds .

Truly, this sort of thing just blows my mind away!