AUSTRALIA DAY Today.

Yes, 220 years since the First Fleet, laden with English convicts, sailed into Sydney Harbour.

Paula & I were out last evening to a restaurant in the Valley called 'Belle Epoque' - a superb French restaurant.

Had oysters, escargots, salmon, creme brulee, champagne and Absinthe!

A marvellous contraption for preparing it - picture below.

SOME DAYS ARE JUST SURREAL!

What a weird day.
I awoke on a high because I'd just (yesterday) arranged my next climbing trip (New Zealand) but better still it's OUR 9th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.
THEN I heard that Heath Ledger was found dead at the age of 28.

THEN we had a call from Nicola to say that her boyfriend's Mum had had a HEART TRANSPLANT this morning!

It was almost pleasant to get to work and do a gynaecology list.

I was very thankful to be sitting having a glass or two of Pinot Grigio with the lovely Paula this evening and knowing that the stock market was on the mend.

PS. Madeleine has been in Kathmandu for 2 weeks and is enjoying the shopping.

It's the little things that count.

So, after nearly 3 years I got round to putting up the 'St. Pancras Fixture' toilet-roll holder in the hall 'loo' at the Maleny house. This involved creating a specially painted backing board and purchasing a 'stud finder' so it wouldn't fall off with the first couple of sheets.

9th January. GOODBYE MADELEINE.

Madeleine's off on her Gap Year.

We had lunch at the gallery after the Warhol Exhibition then home to pack.


Off to the airport this evening, she left at midnight for Kathmandu. She'll spend 2 months doing volunteer work in an orphanage there before going on to England for a year.

9th January. Andy Warhol Exhibition.

Only 10 days into it and 2008 is turning out to be a busy year.
Today we were off to the new GoMA - the Brisbane Gallery of Modern Art - to see a major Andy Warhol Exhibition.

It was a lot better than I thought it might be. I especially enjoyed all the Campbell's soup and the Marilyn Monroe series. His pictures of Mao Tse Tung and Mick Jagger were also excellent.

First NEW TOY of 2008!

Popped into town to get a small stereo system and was pulled - as if by a black hole - into the Bang & Olufsen store in Fortitude Valley. Walked out 20 minutes later with a Dark Grey 'BeoSound 1' system.
It Sounds Great!

Nicola's 20th Birthday. 2nd January 2008

So my eldest offspring, Nicola, has turned 20.
She's just finished her first year of a nursing degree and seems to be enjoying herself.
The whole family, plus her boyfriend Brady, popped into the city for dinner by way of celebration.


(Planning to get that video screen removed from my head quite soon,)

Last Day of 2007

We were up at Chartwell, our house at Maleny. The drought clearly had come to an end with 190 mm. - nearly 8 inches - of rain in less than a week. I spent a few hours out in the garden digging drainage channels to stop the erosion.
All the fire-work displays on the Sunshine Coast & Gold Coast were cancelled because of strong winds and rain.