Our cabin – it was adequate, except that the pillows of today are multiplying – one doesn’t have a single or double pillow anymore, we have to have pillows for show, yet few viewers are invited in to one’s bedroom . . . note the long tube like pillow that spent all day at the […]
I’ve managed to trace my family back to John Woodland, who was born around 1610, near Newport Pagnell. His grandson, Richard, married Mary Exon, a girl from Ware in Herts , which is 50 miles (80 km) from Newport Pagnell. The distance today is less than an hours drive, so to marry someone so far away in […]
Lachlan Macquarie 1762 – 1824 Lachlan Macquarie was the 5th Governor of NSW and arrived in Sydney in 1809. He urbanised the convict settlement by creating street and parks and the layout of Sydney today is based on his plans. Governor Macquarie encouraged social reforms, and he promoted getting married in church, morality, police patrols, […]
It is fifty years since Richmal Crompton died at the age of 78 in 1969. Her original idea was to write stories of children for adults, but they ended up becoming favourites of the children instead, and still are today. Over 12 million copies of her books were sold in the UK, at the time […]
In late 1968 I resigned from a life at sea and decided on a life with B.O.A.C. B.O.A.C coat of arms So life would change from water to air. BOAC VC 10 at Manchester Airport BOAC – B707 BOAC B707 freighter – my introduction to containerisation. The airline pallets (containers) can be seen loaded on […]
After we returned to Broome from the oyster farm we decided to visit Cable Beach to witness the sun setting over the Indian ocean. We arrived about an hour before sunset because we wanted to enjoy a drink and the atmosphere. Living in Sydney we can see the sunrise, but the sun always sets over […]
Hollywood Pool Club – I took these pictures during our time at anchor just off Santorini in Greece. The bulk of the passengers were still ashore so Maureen & I had the place mainly to ourselves. If you look closely at the green figures above, you can see someone hiding as I took the picture. […]
We sail from Sydney at 4.00 pm on Sunday (5th Feb) for a thirteen night cruise to New Zealand – land of the long white cloud. We will visit, Bay of Islands Auckland Tauranga Napier Wellington Akaroa Dunedin We will then sail around the southern tip of New Zealand to cruise the Fiordland National Park on […]
Please don’t wish me Happy Holiday, because I am not going on holiday, but I will be in March, but then I would prefer Happy Easter. If you want to wish me anything this week may I suggest that it is Happy or Merry Christmas. If wishing me Happy Christmas is offensive to you, then […]
Abu Dhabi 2017 – the Emirates Palace Hotel – I didn’t have any friends in Abu Dhabi so I was unable to fix a visit, but I did check the rates – on special the cheapest room is AUD $365 / night (USD $290) but couldn’t find out if this included a ‘free’ breakfast. The most […]
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 […]
Just a little of the background to the ‘confrontation’, which was that Indonesia objected to the creation of Malaysia, and the inclusion of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo, (which was a Crown colony), and Sarawak, which was known then as British Borneo, and is now known as East Malaysia. The pink bits on the map are […]
Celebrity Silhouette Our winter has just started – everyone tells me it will end on the 1st September, but I still believe it is the 21st Sept (Equinox), but regardless it is still cold at the moment. During the last couple of months my thoughts have been considering how best to avoid at least a […]
I was sixteen when I made my first visit ‘abroad’ in 1960, (I do not count Wales). I had been asked by a family friend, who was a teacher, to help look after a group of British school children while youth hosteling in Germany or DJH short for Deutschland Jugendherbergen We were to stay at […]
