Our next port of call was Tauranga – the above is of the sunrise as was we entered Tauranga harbour, which is a beautiful place to visit. Entering the harbour. Maureen & I were fortunate because our daughter in law’s parents live in Tauranga and had offered to be our guides for the day, and to […]
Life can get crowded as the Arcadia arrives just behind us. Of course our old favourite had to join us Sapphire Princess A short time later Queen Victoria arrived and to top it all Marco Polo slips in . . . Fortunately we were the first to arrive, so had clearance quickly. But to be […]
By 1946 over 500 Japanese had died in Australia. This number included those who died in the breakout of August 1944. The Japanese who died in attempting to escape were buried in a plot next to the Australian War Cemetery in Cowra. The war ended and the RSL (Returned and Services League) of Australia would […]
Eventually I was back at Funafuti airport waiting for the plane to Suva, which is the capital of Fiji. Large international airlines use Nadi, but as my aircraft would be a propeller aircraft our destination would be Suva. The airline that was supposed to fly us (fourteen passengers) failed to arrive, so a substitute had […]
On receiving the contract, I read it quickly and then read it again more slowly and then one more time, after which I decided that I needed help to make the correct decision. I bounced the idea off members of Goodreads , which is a book readers web site, and I was very pleasantly surprised to […]
Our next stop would be the Barossa Valley, which was a six hour drive from Broken Hill. As we headed south it was all open spaces. The pictures above reminded me of Jack Absalom’s paintings. The Australian land has very distinctive smell, for me it is the smell of Australia and I love it! My […]
We spent most of the day of our first day at sea between Sydney and Melbourne navigating around the ship to find out where everything fitted – restaurants, bars, shopping areas etc We had a cloudy morning, which brightened in to a blue sea and blue sky day with very good visibility. We were able […]
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 […]
The old and the new – Golden Princess can be seen with a sailing ship along side. We berthed close to the town, which allowed for a short walk to many places of interest. A touch of yesteryear where ever we looked. Many of the streets and homes reminded me of New Zealand, quiet and […]
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 […]
Das Island The photograph of Das Island has been downloaded from the net – I’ve marked the position of Das Is – under the ‘er’ of Persian under lined in cream. I think the only main change since 1963 would be the upgraded runway. I always had the feeling that the island was floating on […]
Beside writing I love reading. I am quite unable to pass a second hand book shop, just in case they have something of interest. On the way to a restaurant for lunch last Saturday I called in to a wine shop for some Christmas drink. On leaving the wine shop surprise, surprise there was a […]
After the fall of France, in June of 1940 Benito Mussolini of Italy declared war on Great Britain. Benito Mussolini – 1883 – 1945 Mussolini ordered his general in N. Africa, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, to attack the British, which he did reluctantly in September 1940. Marshal Rodolfo Graziani 1882-1955 The British, supported by Commonwealth troops from […]
While in Perth we arranged to meet our friends for lunch, and they were kind enough to book a table for four at C Restaurant on the 33rd floor of one of the city’s taller buildings. It was a revolving restaurant and it must be nearly thirty years since Maureen and I had eaten in […]
