In 1926 Aggie married Charles Grey When one reads the history of Samoa, particularly through the 1800s to the mid-1900s the list of characters that flowed in and around Apia, the capital of Samoa, would keep a Hollywood producer in work for years. Aggie grew up across the road from the International Hotel and one […]
Boeing 747 – the work horse of flying in the 1980’s How something simple can grow & grow! In 1986 I was asked to attend an operational meeting in London, to which I agreed. I warned Maureen that I would be away for a few days because I was going to London. Later it was […]
The sun is behind us as it chases us in to Wellington Harbour. We are aiming for the gap. We were fortunate in Wellington because an old friend from my Conway days lives in Wellington and he had ‘volunteered’ to show us around. We’d both joined Conway on the same day, and had been in […]
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 […]
Check the pronunciation of Budapest – it ends as ‘pesht’ not ‘pest’. On arrival at Budapest station from Prague we had to buy our onward tickets to Vienna. I’d tried to buy them over the internet, but Hungary’s rail system would not allow this to happen. We found the office for international tickets and entered, […]
We sailed for the Beagle Channel at midnight on our way to Ushuaia in Argentina. We would have a day of cruising the Beagle Channel. The morning brought some dramatic views – the above and the one below were taken from our balcony. We didn’t have any idea what the day would bring for our […]
Floating Market outside Bangkok. Hire a boat and enjoy the experience. They cater for all tastes. Access to the market can be made from the landward side. We walked through the market to get to the boats. The locals also buy from the boat people. The young girl had just bought a hot meal. Most […]
Will, John and I first met in September of 1960, and we had kept in touch – on and off – over the years, so when we had the opportunity of sailing together we jumped at joining Azamara Quest for the South American cruise. When Will & John found out that during the cruise Maureen […]
Elisseeff Emporium on Nevsky Prospekt. Elisseeff Emporium reminded me of a visit to Fortnum & Mason’s in London. Elisseeff Emporium food hall was part of retail and entertainment complex, which was built in 1902/03. Before this new building was constructed in 1881, there used to be a restaurant on the corner, which anti-tsarists used to dig […]
London on a Spring day a few years ago. London Pride written by Noel Coward after a bombing raid in 1941. He was sitting in a damaged railway station and apparently he felt a wave of sentimental pride. Tulips Soldiers of the Queen On duty at Horse Guards Big Ben Tower Bridge ANZAC war memorial […]
Our first ‘port of call’ was Bay of Island, which is north of Auckland. We anchored about fifteen-minute boat ride from the landing pier. The Bay of Islands doesn’t have any facilities for large vessels to go alongside. A very peaceful and quiet place, the above photo was taken from Waitangi wharf. Our mini-bus took […]
A few years ago, my wife & I, and a friend of ours, stayed in Penang, and during our time there we decided to visit the Cheong Fatt Tze museum, which was a short walk from our hotel. We had to book a time to be allowed in to the museum, and waited outside, with […]
Golden Princess Seven of us are off on a short cruise next week to Tasmania, a place that neither Maureen or I have visited. The cruise is just a week, and for us it is a taste of the Apple Isle, which might convince us to return later for a driving holiday. Tasmania’s coat of […]
From our bedroom window we could see the top of San Cristóbal Hill and the white statue. Our friends from the UK had arrive while we were sight seeing via the Hop on Hop off bus, so during ‘Happy Hour’ in the Club Lounge we all decided to visit San Cristóbal Hill, the following day. The […]
