Floating down the river at Coolendel

Steve3 Comments

The 29th of March 1986 (Easter Saturday) was memorable for two reasons in our family.

  1. Steve and Anne got married
  2. Steve’s Mum and Dad purchased Coolendel

P1080402I could choose to write a story about our wedding, but I’m going to share my Coolendel tales instead.

Coolendel is a unique, and naturally picturesque 52 hectare bush camping ground, bordered by the Shoalhaven River and the Morton State Conservation Area. It’s 30km west of Nowra on the New South Wales South Coast, and only a 3 hour drive south from Sydney.

Over the 29 years that Mum and Dad have Continue reading →

In my daughter’s home

Anne4 Comments

P1080269One of my greatest pleasures is staying in my daughter’s home.  I love that when we arrive, she has cleaned and tidied the place, bought the food we like to eat and made arrangements to explore Melbourne. Best of all is that, at 26 years old, she clearly enjoys spending time with us. None of these actions are in themselves profound; they are the sorts of things that we all do when having guests to stay, however, I notice and cherish them all.

P1080267If you ask parents of young children what future hopes they hold they will inevitably answer Continue reading →

No Easter Bunny on Phillip Island

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P1080303I can’t believe that I didn’t see one rabbit on our Phillip Island Easter break, and that’s a good thing. But what I did see on this Island sojourn was spectacular. Grey geese, penguins, koalas, kangaroos, draught horses, vintage caravans, a grand prix motor cycle circuit, cavorting seals, Aussie surfers, foreign tourists, tangerine sunsets and a lunar eclipse. What an eclectic mix!

No visit to Phillip Island is complete without Continue reading →

Brave enough to dance for your man?

Anne4 Comments

IMG_0852On Sunday I witnessed one of the most romantic and courageous acts I’ve seen.  It was at a 60th birthday party. Our friend Mick was celebrating his birthday while lamenting the speed of life which had bought him to this point.  He was surrounded by 26 friends and family and had just shouted us all to a delicious lunch.  Hilarious anecdotes of his life bounced around the room and there were many heartfelt speeches rejoicing in a life well lived and promises to share more adventures in the future.  Maybe you think a 60th birthday would be a dull event, but no, by that age the fine art of enjoyment has been perfected.

Mick has been married to Mary Jo for over 25 years and she stood to deliver her speech, however, she surprised us all, and instead of speaking she Continue reading →

Pedals and Paddles

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I never thought my most enjoyable city experience would involve some form of exercise, but as I continue to explore new places, the more I find myself seeking out alternative transport options.

Melbourne has impressed me as a city of diversity, from the new and old architecture, the multi-cultural flavours, the trams, the sport, and of course, the weather. For now, the weather has been fabulous, but I am assured that this is just luck, and am encouraged to make the most of it whilst it lasts. So make the most of it we have.

P1080259Anne and I have incorporated cycling into our daily life over the past few years, and added it as a “must do” activity to most of our holidays in recent years, so it was a no brainer to consider cycling along the Yarra River during our current visit to Melbourne. The tourist information centre was great, providing us three options for bike rental. The Melbourne “Blue Bike” system, “Rentabike” on Federation Square, or “Freddy’s” down on Batman Park. We chose Continue reading →

Where a journey takes you

Anne6 Comments

P1080249We take many journeys through life and they are not all connected with travel.  Major life journeys I have enjoyed include studying at university, getting married, building a house and of course having children.  I love the way you start at some place with no clear view of where you will end up, and the journey unfolds as you go along.  I have long believed that life is about the journey not the destination.  Writing the book of my friends life has been another journey that has led me to delightfully unexpected places.

When I agreed to write the book, I envisaged Continue reading →

8 or so weeks on the run…

Anne2 Comments
No sniping ....... yet
No sniping ……. yet

I am enjoying the wonderful absence of urgency and stress. We have had two weeks at home after the trip to New Zealand and there is plenty of time to do anything that needs to be done, but nothing seems particularly important.  I love lazy mornings with slow starts, problem is my lazy mornings can easily run into the afternoon.

Make new friends but keep the old

One is silver and the other gold

This old refrain keeps echoing through my mind. These eight weeks have been full of precious new and old friends and family. The intensity of the delight in reconnecting with people has surprised me.

We have had many conversations with friends about how much you need to work at our stage of life.  Could work look differently than it does now? Longer leave periods? Part time? Less stressful jobs? Can you retire too young? How much money do you really need to retire? How do you have Continue reading →

Shhhhhh….it’s our little secret…..our Little Malaysia

Steve2 Comments

Whether we live in a small country town or a large city, we all have our favourite little restaurant. 

Little MalaysiaYou know the type I’m talking about. Those restaurants that you always return too….the ones where you are on first name basis with the owner or the chef……the ones where they know what you like to eat before you place your order……..the ones where you don’t need to look at the menu……..the ones where no matter what you order, or how many of you there are,  the bill is never more than $20 per head…….and most importantly……the ones that allow you to bring your own alcohol “BYO”.

Henry is the Chef, and Fania is the front of house manager at Little Malaysia in West End, Brisbane – it’s their Restaurant, it’s their passion, and it’s their life. For us……it’s our favourite little restaurant, where we have spent many of our Friday nights in great company and with great food.

West End is Continue reading →

Brisbane is pretty damn good!

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I have cycled many of these bike paths almost every day over the past 5 years as I made my way to the office, but today, they looked very different! Perhaps it’s because I had my eyes wide open?

cycling BrisbaneUsually on my morning ride to work I am pre-occupied with what might be waiting for me, either in my inbox or on my desk, oblivious to the really important things around me, and how great they are. Not only the natural beauty, but how fortunate we are to have such well-maintained and positioned cycle ways and paths for moving pedestrians and bikes safely around the river city of Brisbane.

It really hit me just how lucky we are to live here – whilst it’s Continue reading →

A love affair with New Zealand

Anne2 Comments
In love
In love

I feel as if I have fallen madly in love with New Zealand. I am now besotted with the place, and for the first time since I left forty years ago, I yearn to go back. I want to buy a campervan and inch my way around the country so that I can soak up the beauty. Alas that may still be some years in the future, so for now I must say farewell to my lover.

Before we leave New Zealand here are a few of my favourite things:

Funniest moment: When we were queuing to leave the inter-island ferry an announcement was made “Would the person who left Continue reading →