Big Job to put the Clock Back an Hour .............

We were looking for something to do on Easter Sunday, so decided to commence photographing the Colac Cemetery (yeah, I know, you just can't get over what an exciting life we have).  On the way, we came across the monthly market at Camperdown - then noticed that the Camperdown Bell Tower was open.

This is an interesting and very economical (only $2 a person) tour to take.  Pay your money (don't buy the "I've Climbed the Tower" sticker (only $1) however until after you've done it - otherwise you'll be cheating).  To get to the top requires climbing a number of very steep stairways, with a number of platforms upon which you can rest on the way up (or down, for that matter - otherwise we'd still be up there wouldn't we?).  On the way there are a number of great stained-glass windows to enjoy.

About half way up you come across the three bells that create the "chimes" every quarter-of-an-hour, plus the hourly count.  We were standing right next to them when the clock struck one - but no running mice to be found.  Fair causes one to soil the old trousers when not expected - here we were fortunate; they hadn't turned the clock back an hour for the end of daylight saving, so at least we didn't have to endure, close-up, a full twelve chimes.

From the bell platform, it's another flight up to where the clock mechanism is housed; and then one more up to the viewing platform at the top, where one gets a great 360 degree view of Camperdown.

After soaking up the panorama, it's just a matter of negotiating the steep stairs all the way to the bottom - when, of course, one can legitimately purchase the aforementioned sticker.  Definately, well worth the $2 admittance fee.

After that, the Cemetery was some what pedestrian - although, we did manage to photograph nearly a 1000 headstones before heading back home.

Downsizing has begun .........

Had our first garage sale today. Follows on from our first skip to get rid of rubbish.

Sale was quite successful; getting rid of a number of the larger, hard to get rid of items that we don't want to take with us - birdcages, trailer, wheelbarrow and our 6 foot fish tank (see earlier postings).

This has led to the first "casualties" of our reduction policy. Had to find a new home for the fish (only three, but they are a fair size). Plans to sell the two-foot tank were abandoned. This was set up and the fish successfully transferred. Although we won't be moving to a house that is much smaller than where we currently are, the same cannot be said for the fish.

Bring on World Cup 2022 .....

Chloe attended her first Soccer Training run on Saturday, 13 Feb morning.  She has been as keen as mustard to get into the action.  Rarin' to go all week.  She tried on Ben's old Rangers uniform and that was enough to get her all ready for the action.  She even wanted to wear it to school the next morning.

Saturday morning she was a little shy and stand-offish, but this soon disappeared once she got into the thick of things.  Did well in the various training drills, but it was the match practice that she was waitng for.  Quite a warm morning and in spite of her love of running and all things sporting, she did tire a bit - it was actually quite a long session.

Although not in the match, we did manage to get a video of her scoring a goal in one of the training drills.  Well done, Chloe!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JajSJmqDaKA

It'll All Come out in the Wash ..........

This one is entered for Lorelle - I think she has forgotten how to create new postings on the blog.

Adrian & Chrissy have moved recently, so they had a bit of a clean out. We copped a bit of stuff (which now has to be factored into our own 'reduction' scheme) and Lorelle took their front-end loading washing machine. We borrowed a trolley and when Aido was last down, proceeded to replace her old machine with this new one. Set it up nicely in the laundry (where else, I hear you ask?) and gave it a test run. Everything hunky-dory.

Well she has been using it for a week or so, then, yesterday heard this almighty shriek from Ben, who was in the kitchen, adjacent to the laundry. Well, the bloody machine had spun itself off its stand and ended up, almost splattered, on the floor.

Fortunately, she had not disposed of the old machine (which still worked - but not as efficiently as a 'good' front loader) so we got another trolley and took the now badly broken front loader out and brought the oldie (no, not Robbie) back in.

Luckily no-one was in the laundry at the time, so no real harm was done. So, the quo has been statused as at before installation of the new machine and she is still able to do the laundry.

Something to Celebrate the Move with ........

As exposed in our previous post - we are moving.  A lifestyle change.  In another change, I have entered the amazing world of home-brew beer.  Not only will this save money in the future - but it will provide a very adequate supply of something to celebrate our shift with.


Robbie gave me the home-brew kit for Christmas, and to be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about how it would go - especially given all the warnings in the instructions about temperature control.  All sounded a bit 'disciplined' for my usual method of doing things.  However, we set up the "keg" with a pair of electric slippers and this seemed to do the job.

A week or so later, and what they call the "wort" seemed about right, so it was bottling time.  You are meant to get 30 bottles (740ml each) from the brew, and bugger me dead, that's exactly what I got.  So far, so good.

Then the really difficult bit - leaving the bottles to store and complete fermenting, etc. for two weeks - two bloody weeks to get into it to check the result.  Robbie, in one of her unkinder moments, said it wouldn't matter to me anyway.  Hopefully they would contain at least some alcohol, so the taste probably wouldn't matter to me.

Well, I gave it 18 days before chilling a couple of test bottles.  Then, on that momentous day, Sunday 17 January, the big taste test occurred.  Bouquet excellent - for Adrian's edification, no 'nuts on the nose'; colour okay - very much like beer (a good indicator); nice and clear - no noticable sediment; and finally, the taste.  More like a bitter than a lager, but absolutely NO complaints with the quality of taste.

It's now Tuesday and a testament to the brew's quality can be seen in the two photos - the glass of the liquid amber looks good enough to put on E-Bay and as you will see, only 24 bottles left.  No I haven't drunk the other six yet - there's a couple chilling in the fridge.

Look out Fosters & Tooheys - there's a new kid on the block.

The times they are a changing ..........

Yes, the times certainly are a-changing - and the Marr's are a-moving.  A big life style change in about July - August this year. We will be moving from a three bedroom house with a reasonably large yard area - to - a three bedroom brand new house on a block of land JUST a bit bigger than the house itself.

So, no more lawn mowing for me, and lovely, new fittings, carpets, etc. for Robbie.  AND, we'll be living in a housing estate within a caravan park. Location is a little bit closer to Warrnambool than where we are now - still in Allansford.  Within a one minute walk to the Hopkins River (great fishing). The place is called Jubilee Park. Quiet most of the year and hectic during the holiday periods.  It has keyed entry, a general store, swimming pool, spa, tennis court, mini-golf (badly run-down, though), playground (for Rob and the Grandees), BBQ's - the usual types of things you find in such a park.  Just need to confirm the details for getting Broadband and everything will be sweet.

We have purchased a 250 year lease (should see us out) on the land [coloured yellow on map] and have contracted Rod Stephens - a local builder - to build the house (which must "technically" be a removable house).  You can see his work here. We are building the "Samuel" model - with a few changes; such as a patio at the back, double glazed windows and modifications to the dining/kitchen areas.

We will be in 'reduction' mode for the next few months as we try to whittle down all the "stuff" accumulated over the last twenty odd years.  E-Bay and garage sales will get a hammering, no doubt.

So, we have something to REALLY look forward to over the ensuing months.  BRING IT ON, I say!

Maybe Raven Mad - but doesn't need egging on .......

One of our chooks, when let out for a run, has the habit of laying her egg in a shallowed out nest at the base of one of the gum trees.

She's a pretty good layer, but recently sems to have gone off the boil - no eggs for several days.  On the weekend, Robbie noticed there was a freshly laid offering, but decided not to collect it - instead leaving it for our grand-daughter to find later.  When she went looking, lo and behold, not an egg in sight.

So, I set up a camera and we "planted" a recently collected egg in the usual spot.  About an hour later, sure enough - no egg.

Here's the culprit ........


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt7btjMm3rk

Earthrace visit .......

The international environmental boat "Earthrace" visited Warrnambool over the Australia Day long weekend. We took Hughie down to have a look over it and thought that Ben & Chloe might be interested. A short phone call later, and Tim brought them down for a tour.

The vessel itself is smaller - both in height and width - compared to what I expected, but it is spectacular. A bit gimicky, I think but very unusual. They should paint if black and hire it out for the next Batman movie - it would make an ideal Batm'boat. Or, alternatively, for the next James Bond movie.

I shudder to think how I would go in it on a long voyage - very cramped inside. I imagine it would get swealtering down below in warmer weather.

Notwithstanding all the above, a very worthwhile visit as it is certainly something "different".

The Carnival is over .......

As mentioned in the previous entry, we have been to the Warrnambool Seaside carnival at Lake Pertobe. Had to rug up a bit as the breeze was quite chilly, but that didn't manage to put a dampener on things.

Started out with something fairly sedate - a mini truck ride and then on to a couple of jumping castles - one based on the Cars movie and one on Jurassis Park. The Cars one probably proved the more popular as it had a couple of good slides.

From there we moved on to the Dodgem Cars - certainly a favourite with Ben who seems to have some very good, natural driving skills. This was special, however, as he and Chloe shared the car. You could see that they both loved it - Ben because he was doing the big brother bit and Chloe because she was able to share the moment with him.

Played a few of the sideshow "skill" games to no great success - they won a few little trinkets, but enjoyed the challenges. Ben then wanted to try the "Rocket" ride, so Chloe went on the mini-train ride. She got the best of it here as Ben got a bit jittery in the confines of the rocket, so we gave it a miss, even managing to get a refund for our troubles. Congratulations to the "Carny" running it, he was very understanding (well, very is an overstatement, but it didn't take too much convincing for him feel some compassion).

The Bungy-jump trampolines were the next attraction. Both are used to something similar as they have a trampoline in the back yard. But, with an attendant assisting and with the benefit of safety straps they were able to let it all 'hang loose'. Gained some great height and although it's the most expensive attraction there, they get quite a long time on the apparatus. Chloe proved to be a bit light in weight to gain really big bounces without help. Both definately looked as though they were trying to enter the stratosphere though.

Finished off with one last go on the Dodgems. Turned out we had a spare token after they announced that the last run was about to start, so we got Hughie on board. I must admit, between myself and the Ben/Chloe cars, Hughie came in for a bit of a pasting - in between Ben/Chloe and myself trying to take each other out.

We were out of there about 10.30pm and heading for home. Thankfully no school the next day.

Home grown roller-coaster ...........

We were planning to go to the Warrnambool foreshore carnival for a bit of entertainment - mainly for you know who, plus Ben & Chloe.

Chloe decided she didn't want to wait, so set up her version of a roller-coaster in the back patio. Chairs for everyone including the safety bar across the front. Those of you familiar with the old Red Faces programme may find the attached picture reminiscent of the Australian Bob-sled Team act that scored so well on one of the early series.

At the given word, off it went. Throwing the passengers to and fro and up and down as it looped through its course. About the wildest ride we've ever been able to get Robbie on.

We can only hope there will be something as exciting at the carnival itself.

Myth-Ben-sters ............

Ben is an avid fan of Mythbusters and thought he would try out one of the Myths for himself.

He borrowed two local phone books (don't worry, I won't damage them! Yeah, sure, we thought - remembering back to when a young Adrian or Lorelle might have said something similar) Anyway, he proceeded with the labourious task of interleaving all the pages in the two books. Next step was to see if the myth was true or not.

"See if you can separate these two books" he challenged. Well, we all tried. Not even two strapping, strong adult men like Hughie and myself could get those books to even move a millimetre apart. Didn't matter how hard we pulled, no success.

Well done, Ben. MYTH CONFIRMED

Now all we need is for someone to separate them using the "un-interleaving" method. Then we can start looking up numbers again (at least I can use the white pages on the net until then)

Who said Big Brother was finished ......

Got a surprise phone call on Thurs 15 Jan - Hughie, Robbie's eldest brother wanted to visit for a while. He arrived Saturday afternoon, having spent a bit of time with other brother, Bruce.

Sunday, we did a bit of a tour around the traps and went on the Warrnambool Boat Cruise's short voyage along the Hopkins River. Very peaceful and really shows off some of the newer developments happening along the shores of the river. Took in the breakwater and Thunder Point - of course had to locate the trotting and greyhound tracks (I think they plan to go to the dogs on Wednesday - Robbie, of course, went to the dogs years ago).

Monday, we played 18 holes of golf at the Deakin Uni course. Modesty prevents me from saying who won, but I was quite pleased with my efforts considering I probably haven't hit a golf ball in anger for five years.

He will be staying for a little while, so I can use the opportunities that part-time work provide to show him more of the sights around the district. Will probably have another hit of golf or two.

Life begins at 40 ...........

Subtitled: You only get 20 years for murder

Yes, we celebrated the big 40 years of wedded bliss on Jan 11th. We scrapped giving cards and presents for Anniversaries some years ago, opting instead to simply go out and have a nice meal together.


We chose Breakers Restaurant for this occasion as we have been there a couple of times before and have found it to be very pleasant. Things didn't start off really well when we found that they hadn't reserved a table in the desired location for us (organised, so I thought, at time of booking) but that was the only glitch. The food and service was up to the usual standard so no cause for complaint on that score. They have a good reputation for seafood and it is well deserved. Robbie strayed from her usual fare and chose the steak which was also excellent. Wrapped up around 9-ish so we then went home and shared a bottled of Penfolds Salenger - a bit up-market and more expensive that we normally have, but worth the extra.

Christmas/New Year 2008 .........

It's been a while since I made a post to the blog, but then things have been pretty quiet. Enjoying the part-time work which is enough to keep our heads above water. This change in lifestyle has led into the Christmas period very nicely and being a quiet time of year for the type of work I am doing has meant for a very relaxed time.

Adrian and Chrissy spent the Christmas week in Perth with her family, so we had our big Christmas day on the preceding weekend. As will be seen by the photo, lots of presents, although things aren't quite what they seem - no we're not that flushed with funds that we personally bought out every store in the district. Ben & Chloe got into the spirit of things by wrapping lots of little trinkets to be given out on the day and this swelled the pile of gifts under the tree. It was a great day and just about every present hit its mark.

On the Monday, we did the usual Christmas lights tour. Much the same as past years, but still some fantastic displays that had Ben & Chloe gasping. One difference, and big improvement, was that I programmed the tour into my SatNav and then just followed instructioons (could be a first for me!). Although I know the streets fairly well, it did make things much easier, alleviating the need to constantly look for street signs - very handy given the amount of traffic that was obviously following a similar route to ours.

One of our better New Year's Eve celebrations then concluded the "season". Lorelle, Ben, Chloe, Berty Boy, Lilly, Robert (Lilly's son - boy has he grown - fair bursting out of his seams, he will have his head in the stratosphere if he gets any taller), Rod & Gwen all contributed to a relaxed, entertaining and great night. No wheel chair in sight but Lorelle opted for tricycle racing. All it needed was the Hutchies and the competition would have really been on. Wonderwoman brought things under control again and we settled back into some gentle imbibing and lively discussion. Could hear a few fireworks in the area around midnight, but didn't see any lighting up the neighbourhood.

Companionship .......

Couldn't resist this photo when we went in to shift Ben from one bed to another

The old Birthday blues ......

No, not me. I had an excellent birthday weekend. Great dinner at the Allansford Pub bistro, 18 of us there. Unfortunately, the usual suspects amongst us (they know who they are) got in while we were otherwise occupied and pulled off a neat trick. We were expecting something of course, but they went beyond the normal boundaries and involved the livestock, or should I say, the fowls.

Poor white duck is no longer white. As you will see from the photo, at least crazy chook wasn't subjected to their indignities. But, not all is lost. For some reason the spray bottle was left at the scene, so we have ready made ammunition for our own foray into retribution when the opportunity arises - after we get the bottle checked for fingerprints, that is.

Then, on Sunday, joined in a poker game at Gav & Mary's. Talked Chrissie into going and bugger me dead, she won the first tourney - at her first ever attempt at face-to-face. I came third in the second one, so she ended up with a nice win and I had a small loss. But, I think I may have created a monster.

Grampians in May .......

We decided to go away on the weekend of 10/11 May - last chance with Company car and petrol. Even so, didn't venture too far - just to the Grampians. Before I get into the trip story, I have deliberately placed a photo of the Silverband Falls right at the start - take a look at it to the left. Now, what is missing in this photo? If you can't figure it out, I will tell all at the end of the narrative.

We stayed at the Halls Gap Best Western Colonial Motor Inn. I MUST start the story with something about this Motel. We ordered a couple of Best Western vouchers to cover the accommodation costs, but they didn't arrive in time. When we got to the Motel, Kimberley was incredibly understanding and helpful. She volunteered to charge us just at the rate they would receive back from Best Western, then, when the vouchers arrive and we send them on, she will credit the accommodation charges back on our Visa. Absolutely no obligation for them to do this - just a case of GREAT service. Add to this the fact that the room was very nice and the food at their Darcy's Restaurant was worth the trip in itself. To the Colonial Motor Inn and Kimberley, 11 out of 10 on your scorecard.

The Grampians, like most of the State, is very drought stricken, so the various waterfalls were certainly not at their best. All in all, we probably walked about 10 kms on the Saturday, mostly not too arduous. Splitters Falls, at Wonderland, was probably the most difficult. We didn't do the Pinnacle or Grand Canyon. From there we went on to Boroka Lookout where the mist tended to spoil the view a bit. We did notice the novel decking here, where they obviously went to great expense and trouble to save one tree when the lookout was built. I guess, if I can paraphrase the Monty Python song - "Every tree is sacred", they obvioulsy felt that the Grampians were short on trees.

From the lookout, we took a back way round to the Lake Whartook wall. The water level here (as with all the lakes in the area) is well down on the last time we visited. From there a short stint to MacKenzie's and Broken Falls. The guy working at the Kiosk here was very helpful with advice on various places we might find interesting. On his advice we proceeded to Zumstiens where we took the 6 km round trip to Fish Falls. A nice easy grade walk (the most difficult bit was avoiding all the animal poop scattered along the track). Got up close with a kangaroo on the walk back - one of the few we saw on the entire trip.

Sunday morning we saw the Silver Band Falls and then took the Glenelg River Road (all unsealed) west, to come out on the Henty Hwy. north of Cavendish. Into Hamilton for lunch and then home.

Okay, have you worked out what was missing at Silver Band Falls. Here is a closer picture. What would one normally find at the bottom of every waterfall? A pond or pool where the water collects before continuing onwards as a creek or stream. Well, this just doesn't happen with these falls. The water disappears immediately into the bed rock at the base and then proceeds underground for a way. We reckon it's some sort of magic trick, but it does give a very unusual finish to the falls.

A new chapter set to begin ........

I have resigned my job at British American Tobacco, effective on 15 May 2008. So, a new beginning, hopefully full of new challenges awaits me.

I have been unhappy in the job for some time. The constant travelling and being away from home so much (I think I have missed almost every family anniversary, birthday, event, etc. over the past two years) have been taking their toll. As a result, the quality of my work has also suffered, which was an added burden because I do like to maintain a certain standard in everything I do. So, it is time to move on. I will have a short break and will then be back with, hopefully, new part or full time work - but definately localised around Warrnambool.

I have had a great time at Rothmans/BATA and they have been very good employers over the past 14 years, so I have no negative feelings or comments to make.

Roll on the future ................

Brave Chloe .....

It isn't all that long ago that you couldn't even get Chloe to go into the aviary, what with all those wild "animals" in there.

With Ben's encouragement, however, she has started venturing in there to check out the nest, look for any chook eggs, feed the birds and repair perches, etc.

Now she even lets our friendly cockatiel, Jake, alight upon her. Jake has a fascination with hair and any adornments that one may be wearing on one's head. Chloe has beautiful, long, curly hair which Jake has obviously taken a liking to. Hope he doesn't mess it up too much as it can be quite a job combing and brushing her hair so that is does her justice.

Port MacDonnell, Caves and Lakes .....

Just spent a weekend in the Mt. Gambier area. Stayed at the Port MacDonnell Foreshore Tourist Park, in their on-site flat. A bit old, but spacious and comfortable - only downside was the cleanliness (or lack of it) in the unit. Stove (oven & grill), toilet and washing trough were all putrid - not even up to one star standard. Left for there after work and Ben & Chloe had finished their school days (Chloe's at kinder now) - an easy trip so we could stay that night and get a good start to our touristy things on Saturday.

Started Saturday with a nice walk along the beach (after we all slept in) and then on to the playground at the Brown Lake centre, which made a really good contrast in colour to the Blue Lake. From there it was on to the Umpherstone Cave or sink-hole (which we returned to after dark - much more interesting). We then visited the tourist info centre for some ideas. After Macca's for lunch we checked out the Cave Gardens. From there to the Tantanoola Cave for Ben & Chloe's first caving experience, which we were a bit nervous about, but they really loved it. We had planned tea at the South Eastern Hotel, so headed back to the unit to have a quick break before returning to the Mount.

Checked out the Mini Blue Lake on the way back to Port MacDonnell. Some kids (one named Ben) were diving in there (from about 15 metres height). Really spectacular and frankly, a bit scary, but they seemed to handle it well.

A short rest and then into the Hotel for tea. I had $70 worth of vouchers I had won at poker on some previous visits so this went a long way towards paying for the night. After tea, we went back to the Umpherstone sink hole, expecting, hopefully, to see a possum or two. Well, this was the highlight. Possums everywhere, and really tame. Everyone except Chloe (too nervous) got up-close and personal, being able to pat and feed them. This experience rounded of a great Saturday.

Sunday, we headed home, with a few stops on the way. First was the Princess Margaret Rose Cave. This was much deeper, narrower and bigger than Tantanoola but everyone ventured forth without any problems. From there we had a wander at the mouth of the Glenelg River at Nelson. Ben had a run-in with a tiger snake but handled it exceptionally well. Did everything right. Warned the rest of us, didn't panic, kept his eyes on it and stayed fairly still until it went off into the undergrowth. Aido would have been really proud of him. We had lunch in Portland after getting up close to the Gas Rig moored in the harbour and the whale skeleton in the info centre. Interesting to see a quote in there from John Brabyn Mills, a direct line ancestor of Ben & Chloe. John and brother Charles were pioneers around Portland and Port Fairy.

Plain sailing then back home. A very interesting and successful trip.