By late February we, in NSW, had over 35 days free of Covid-19 so I thought it was time for a short holiday. Not sure how clear the map is, but we decided to visit the Southern Highlands and we decided to stay in Mittagong (marked with the red line). We picked the Grand Country […]
M/S Dunera in Malta After a four month voyage in MV Chilka to East Africa, I was allowed ten days leave before the telegram arrived that I as to join MS Dunera in Venice. Three days later I flew with Alitalia from London to Venice, via Milan. Fortunately, ALITALIA didn’t live up to her acronym Always […]
Why do trains have such a fascination? After reading From Russia with Love I knew that one day I would travel by train through Eastern Europe, if not along the same line as Mr Bond, but some where in Eastern Europe. Murder on the Orient Express – could I afford to travel with Agatha Christie […]
The first train arrived in Parramatta on the 26th September 1855. The first steam train in Australia ran in 1854 from Melbourne to Port Melbourne and by the time of federation in 1901 the network had grown to over 20,000 kms (12,500 miles). Today in Thirlmere, about a thirty-minute drive from Mittagong is the largest […]
It’s Always You Bing Crosby sang it to Dorothy Lamour, in Zanzibar of course . . . Christmas Day 1964 – we arrived off Mombasa and berthed alongside the Chakla, another Company ship. Also, in port was a BI passenger ship named ‘Karanja’ and this name had a family link for me. My father was […]
The flag of Tonga. The red cross of the flag indicates Christianity, approximately 97 % of Tongans are Christian, the white is for purity and the red field is in memory of Christ’s blood shed at His crucifixion. The Kingdom of Tonga consists of 176 islands and the largest is Tongatapu and the capital Nuk’alofa […]
The light rail from Port Melbourne to the city takes about fifteen minutes, and costs $7.50 return, if you are a pensioner or $15.00 full fare. After the Golden Princess docked in Melbourne, we caught the light rail to the city centre. The cost includes a reusable card that can be ‘topped up’ over the […]
Where there is faith there is light and strength The translation of the moto above. My father’s family have lived in Birkenhead since around 1870, after moving from St Albans in Hertford via Derby. My mother’s family were relatively newcomers having moved from Caernarvon in North Wales in 1921. I was born in the same […]
The Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, which is the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. I took the photograph from our balcony as we slowly approached the wharf. The maps below will give you an idea of the location of Tonga. The pier as we came alongside. We could see the locals setting up stalls all […]
The first commercial wet dock in the world was opened in Liverpool in 1715. It was known originally by the engineer’s name Thomas Steer’s Dock, but later, as other docks were built it became known as the Old Dock. This Old Dock was infilled in 1826. When Liverpool One was being created they found the Old […]
A beautiful piece of history in Penang, which was created by four Armenian brothers in 1884. Originally named the Eastern Hotel, which soon became known as ‘The Premier Hotel East of Suez.’ Hotel de l’Europe, also in Penang, was run by one of the brothers who changed the name to The Oriental Hotel in 1885, […]
In 1945 the Americans bombed the real bridge on the river Kwai. The centre parts of the bridge (the flat bits) are new, and the original part of the bridge has the curved sides. We could walk on the bridge; it is a rail bridge only, and not available for road transport. There was a […]
I’ve always loved North & Mid Wales, perhaps because my mother was Welsh and only when the family moved from Caernarvon (Carnarfon to be PC) to Birkenhead, when she was thirteen, did she start to learn English. When my mother spoke of the move she would comment that she moved to England, which sounded strange to me as […]
Where there is faith there is light and strength The translation of the moto above. My father’s family have lived in Birkenhead since around 1870, after moving from St Albans in Hertford via Derby. My mother’s family were relatively newcomers having moved from Caernarvon in North Wales in 1921. I was born in the same […]
