Not actually Gay, Not actually holding hands!

George & Jake. What a worry.

Between Christmas & New Year - Australian style.

Myself in the pink, George & Jake , Jake & Paula.

Christmas dinner -stick another turkey on the barbie!

De-boned turkey, rolled up with 2 different stuffings, and done in the Weber BBQ.
It was fabulous!

Christmas Day - the family photo.

Bathroom Wildlife!

'Sticky' the stick insect flew in and was lurking in the shower.

And it's not just George going overseas.....

Paula, Jake & myself are off to Lord Howe Island for a week in January - a beautiful place.

I have just paid the deposit on my trip to Pakistan in July!

Off to Baltistan, to climb over the Gondoro La, down to Concordia, up the Godwin-Austen glacier to K2 Base Camp, then out via the Baltoro glacier.

The serious training starts at Lord Howe with an ascent of Mt. Gower - 875m (2870 ft.) straight out of the ocean.

George of the Jungle.

So it's all fixed.
My son, George, who is 17 and has just finished school here in Brisbane, is off to the jungle.
He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but being under 18, a gap year sounded good.
We looked at a few ideas - like work ("WORK!!!!!!! aaaagh!!!" he said).
He decided that the hugely prestigious 'Operation Raleigh' might be the go.
If it was good enough for Prince William, then it's just right for George.
Borneo it is.
He leaves on the 6th of February.
It will make a man of him, put hairs on his chest, allow him to meet the orang-utang of his dreams etc. etc. etc.

Good luck to him & bon voyage.

Stormy Weather!

A week of many storms here in SE Queensland. Yesterday we were up at Maleny and a storm came over in the afternoon.
Out I went with tripod and the new Canon Eos 450D to get the view over the Glasshouse Mountains.
It was still daylight so the exposure was a bit tricky. Put it onto ISO 100 and an aperture of 20 - gave exposure times of just over half a second. I went snap-happy with the camera on 'continuous' and took many pictures to get a handful with actual lightning bolts.
These were the best of the bunch;

Sunday 30th Nov. - 'Christmas' lunch on the river

From Indooroopilly to New Farm on Bill Cockburn's boat, 'Will o' the Wisp', for a team Christmas Lunch.
Perfect day with good company and good food & wine.

Linda & Bill.
Myself & Rosalyn Carlisle.
Paula on the stern as we whizz through Brisbane city.

Jake's 16th Birthday

Jake's 16th birthday today.
Yesterday the family got together for the annual photograph, then off to 'Avanti' restaurant for dinner.

Hong Kong. Day 6. 15th Nov.

A trip to Hong Kong island to Hollywood Road and the mid-levels.

The Star Ferry always a great trip - even though it's only a few minutes.
Bruce Lee statue on the 'Avenue of Stars'.

THEN HOME THE NEXT DAY.

Hong Kong. Day 5. 14th Nov.

To the Museum of Hong Kong History in Kowloon. Extremely well done.


An encounter with Yau Ming in a sports store.














To the Temple Street Night Markets in the evening, followed by a welcome beer & Nasi Goreng at the hotel

Hong Kong. Day 4. 13th Nov.

Ferry & bus to Stanley on the southern end of Hong Kong island.


An evening meal at 'Mask' in Kowloon - Sezchuan cuttlefish, soft shell crabs, yellow mushrooms & local beer. Fabulous!

Hong Kong. Day 3. 12th Nov.

A day spent on Lantau Island travelling by train, cable car, bus & ferry.
... to Ngong Ping village.
We climb the 260 steps up to the world's largest outdoor bronze Buddha statue - 30 metres high!
In the evening, to the Spring Deer restaurant in Kowloon for Peking duck carved at our table.

Hong Kong. Day 2. 11th Nov.

A shopping day.
Took the underground - MTR - to Mong Kok. ( I was relieved that this was the name of a suburb and not a disease!)
Found the Flower market & the Goldfish market.


Plenty of seedy hotels, but at $68 for 2 hours it would soon add up. (What can you do to fill in 2 hours anyway?)Into the Tin Hau temple;Then on to the Jade Market where statues of Mao Tse Tung stood alongside Buddhas & dragons;

Hong Kong. Day 1. 10th Nov.

We were staying at the Renaissance Kowloon Hotel.

Got the 'Star Ferry' over to Hong Kong Island then walked through Central to the Peak Railway.

Up to the top for coffee and one of the world's classic views.

Back into Kowloon. Drinks at the hotel then watched the 8.00 pm Light Show.

Off to Hong Kong.

The lady wife & I are off for a little R&R - shopping and dining - in Hong Kong for a week.
In the words of Spike,
"Ying Tong, Ying Tong,
Ying Tong, Ying Tong
Ying Tong,Tiddle I Po"

That should see us through.

Toodle Pip.

Rare Birds!

Now, I have to say upfront that I am not a 'twitcher'. I enjoy seeing the lorikeets & cockatoos in my garden but don't chase after them with binoculars & camera.
However, I was watching a show on 'Animal Planet' the other night - as one does.
I was informed that the extremely rare 'Tibetan Black Necked Crane' had as few as 3,000 individuals left! (Wikipedia reckons 5,000 to 6,000)

You could have knocked me over with one of it's tail feathers.
I'd seen a pair - and even had the photos to prove it!
In 2006, on the road from Everest Base Camp on the northern, Tibetan, side, to Tingri we spotted a couple of large birds.
Here they are;


Take that you serious twichers!

'CROCS' - NOT the ideal footwear for operating in!

I spent my usual day in 'theatre' yesterday and had an oportunity to try out my new little camera - it's a 'Fujifilm - Finepix' which was cheap but has an underwater housing I can use when snorkelling.

Anyway! - a friend of mine who is a surgeon took it upon himself to try out those clog style shoes called 'Crocs'.

Comfortable, plastic, and with ventilation holes!
Could it be that the holes which let evil vapours out might also let evil fluids in?
Here's the result. If I were Janet I wouldn't wash these socks I'd chuck them.