It's the Port Fairy Folk Festival this weekend and I'm not there. (cue sad face) But one of the good things about the Port Fairy Folk Festival is that some of the international -- and indeed local -- musicians also perform gigs in Melbourne. Yay! A few days ago I was lucky enough to see … Continue reading Floating away ~ an evening of folk song
A walk along Surf Beach – with shell
I've been enjoying another relaxing few days at Phillip Island, where beauty and inspiration abound. This morning I took a walk at low tide along the south coast section of the island known as "Surf Beach" to Forrest Caves. With this week's WordPress photo challenge theme of SCALE in mind, I picked up a shell … Continue reading A walk along Surf Beach – with shell
Hey, what about those Herculaneum papyrus scrolls?
Sometimes I can be guilty of thinking life might be simpler without modern technology. Despite the fact I'm a technologist at heart. But then I hear about something that takes my breath away, and I'm back on the modern technology bandwagon. Hell, with this one I'm back on the research bandwagon as well... There came … Continue reading Hey, what about those Herculaneum papyrus scrolls?
Twinkle twinkle at the beach
'Tis the season for twinkling. In Australia that often means sun and the sea. We love our Christmases at the beach. I know we're not quite there yet (can it only be 12 days until Christmas?), but here's my take on TWINKLE for this week's photo challenge. This is the photo I immediately thought of … Continue reading Twinkle twinkle at the beach
Descent – ways with water
I'm taking an engineering viewpoint on this week's photo challenge theme of Descent. Because I've long been fascinated and thrilled by the way our forefathers used the controlled descent of water under gravity as very clean power source (and indeed modern hydropower stations do too). Above is the flour mill at Cotehele in Cornwall. Water … Continue reading Descent – ways with water
An old habit, and possibly a weird one
Here's something I don't do much anymore. Not since I became addicted to downloading ebooks to my kindle. But it turns out I do still sometimes purchase treebooks... In such cases, out comes my good old (enormous) roll of 'contact'. I've been covering my fantasy paperbacks in transparent 'contact' (also known as sticky-backed plastic) for … Continue reading An old habit, and possibly a weird one
ONCE – The stage musical
Imagine two musicians (a guy and a girl), who just met while he was busking on a Dublin street, now hanging out in a musical instrument shop so they can use a piano, playing one of his original songs together for the first time. She's vocally harmonising and adding piano to his guitar on the … Continue reading ONCE – The stage musical
Arrows
On Sunday I bought some arrows. Three arrows with pointed heads, long wooden shafts and feathered fletching. They are hand-crafted replicas of old-style arrows I came across at the Old World Arts and Blacksmiths Fair I went to yesterday, and I completely fell in love with them. They look awesome standing in a glass jar … Continue reading Arrows
Endurance: Ring of Brodgar
About ten years ago I visited Scotland for the second time. I took a six day small group tour right around the country, which included a day in the Orkney Isles. The neolithic village of Skara Brae still has to be one of the most remarkable sites I've ever visited. Talk about endurance. The remains … Continue reading Endurance: Ring of Brodgar
Nothing beats a Melbourne coffee (or an Australian red)
I make no secret of the fact that I drink a lot of coffee. And, since I live in Melbourne, why wouldn't I? Not only are we the world's most livable city (for the fourth year in a row), we have the BEST coffee. My signature beverage is a large (double shot) skim flat white … Continue reading Nothing beats a Melbourne coffee (or an Australian red)
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