A CALL FOR HELP at the other end of the country.

So the call came, "Is it possible for you to baby sit for the weekend?" 

Luckily, our calendar was clear so off we flew to Melbourne way down south. (But closer than LA where they used to live.) It so happened that Bernie was working and Sonya had been asked to fly to LA for the weekend ??? to work on a show that is coming to Sydney in Jan. Sonya is doing free lance production manager work now and then.

We arrived on Friday and Bernie and the boys met us at the airport at the same time Sonya was at the international terminal waiting for her flight but we didn't see each other. 

Earlier that morning, Fox had been to his new school with the Start Up Program, where the newbies go to school a few hours each Friday to prepare them for when they start for real next January. I think it is a super idea.

Bernie showed us around the house and then went off to work. He is acting in the series called, "Wentworth". It will be shown on SoHo next year. 

So we played with the boys, fed them, bathed them and put them to bed. This is all fairly new to us. It was learning as we go. 

The next morning we went for a walk to the duck pond and playground. Thank goodness for Google Maps. 

 On the way we found a bendy tree to climb.

 and hug.

 Then it was feed the ducks and make sure Banjo didn't throw himself in.

 Sonya had told us there was a playground near the duck pond but we walked and walked and couldn't find it until we turned around and found it on the way back. (Where Fox had said it was.)

 Then we walked home. It was a long way for one tired little boy who by now was a tad grumpy. So it was  piggy back time. 

On Sunday we worked out where the nearest train station was and what time the trains left for the city. (All Hail Mr Google!) Thanks to Sonya's suggestion we took the boys to the city square to post a letter to Santa. We had written letters to Santa the day before and I promptly forgot to pack them in the bag which was full of snacks, wipes, a book and an iPad.

 So when we arrived in town we walked the streets looking for a newsagent to buy more letter writing materials. On the way we had fun with these statues. Thanks to our friend Ken, we have a description of the sculpture: Three Businessmen by Alison Weaver and Paul Quinn
These three statues are on the corner of Swanston and Bourke Sts Melbourne.
"Officially named the 'Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch: Batman, Swanston and Hoddle', this whimsical, life- sized sculpture pays homage to Melbourne's three pioneers, returning them to the city's streets as pedestrians observing Melbourne's development throughout time."

 Surprise, surprise, Santa arrived in the City Square and we didn't have to line up for long.

At the last minute I found a flower stall selling cards and envelopes and we were able to sit in the park and write another letter for Santa (He apparently answers the letters posted here)

Why would you design a Santa Mailbox with the slot too high for little children???

 Time for an ice cream and a snack. Banjo had fun trying to organise his napkin and in the process wiped his ice cream over Fox's jumper (sweater). Fox wasn't sure that he liked his ice cream and said, "I guess we can't change it for a different one?"

 It was getting close to lunch time and tired time so we headed back to Melbourne's famous Flinders Street Station. Melbourne is also famous for its unpredictable weather. It was cold (17°C) even though its summer. The next day it was hot. (33°C)

 Mr Google told us we needed the Glen Waverley line to get back to Darling Station.  When the boys started getting restless I remembered the book and iPad that I had packed....pity about Santa's letters.

 Bernie returned from his weekend job and took the boys to a playground so we could have a rest. But Bernie plays in a band on Sunday night so we took over again.

 Fox made his own Pizza but Banjo wanted spaghetti.

He wouldn't let me cut it or twist it. It was hilarious watching him. 

Soon it was bath time, story time and then we all fell into bed exhausted.

Monday morning we had to return to Brisbane and Aunty Kate took the baton and cared for the boys until Bernie returned from work. Sonya arrived home the next morning.

It was fun bonding with the boys but we found it tiring. I take my hat off to all those grandparents out there who care for their grand children on a regular basis.
(All photos except the first were taken by Bill, the first by Sonya.)

NOW AND THEN AGAIN

While I was in Sydney last week i not only visited a house where I used to live in 1963 but I also visited "The Australian School of Pacific Administration" (ASOPA) where I studied to be a teacher for Papua new Guinea in 1962/3. Back then, the school was a collection of old buildings that had been used as an army training centre during the second world war. But, it was situated on the most scenic bit of land on Middle Head jutting out into Sydney Harbour/Port Jackson.

ASOPA in the 60's

I took this shot of the first few buildings of the school in 1962.

In 2005 we had our second reunion with the teacher training students called Cadet Education Officers. We went back to the school and we were saddened to see it was no longer being used and the buildings were in a very bad state. So much so that we were prevented from going in them for safety reasons.

Last week when I visited the old school it had been renovated and turned into a business park. This sign greeted us in the car park giving a map and list of businesses. It was so good to see the place had been brought back to life. The buildings seemed to  have more glass, covered walkways and lovely gardens. Better than when I was studying there.

I took this photo from about the same place as those above but the gardens hid the buildings.

So I walked behind the trees to try and capture a shot to compare with my 1962 shot. (The second one from the top)

I think this was the Library or the Admin block in the 60's.

The same block today.

None of these fancy walkways and nice gardens when we were there.

This was our rec room and canteen. In summer we would sit outside on the lawns to eat lunch and look at the beautiful view.

The view from the lawn in the 60's

The view from the same place today. We walked to the bottom of the lawn and found a board walk to a lookout. In the old days we would walk through the bush down to a little beach for evening sing alongs.

My daughter Carol came with Bill and me.

Carol looking towards Sydney CBD.

This is looking the other way towards the Sydney Heads with the famous Manly Ferry on its way across the heads to Manly. (A great trip if you are ever in Sydney)

It was a lovely trip down memory lane.

NOW AND THEN or The Wonders of Blogging

Last year I wrote a post on 'My Story' series about where I lived when I went to Teachers' College in Sydney. You can read it here. Due to the wonders of blogging, I have an interesting story to tell.
Some months ago I received an email from a guy I didn't know and I almost deleted it until I saw the first sentence where he said he had found a post on my blog with a photo of the property that he had purchased. So I went on to read his letter. He explained that he is searching for the history of the house and stories of the previous owners and he asked me if I had any stories about the house and the time that I lived there. There were four bedrooms upstairs and they were rented out to two girls in each. The owners/landlords lived down stairs.
I replied to his email and told him how it was when I lived there. He was very friendly. He said that I was welcome to visit the house when I was next in Sydney. So guess what? I was in Sydney last week and took him up on his offer. My daughter and Bill came too.

This is the photo of my digs in 1963. My friend, Val, and I shared the top right room.

This is the house today with the owners cars. It  was quite an eerie feeling walking up those stairs 52 years since the last time that I did it.The owner was very kind and offered to show us around the house so I could tell him how it used to be because he wants to make changes and try to take it back to how it was when it was first built back in c1910. It is Arts and Crafts Federation architecture. It has returned to being a family home and is no longer converted into bedsits. 

 This was the beautiful view of the Sydney Harbour/Port Jackson from our room in 1963. It is in Middle Head Rd, Mosman. 

The view from our old bedroom today. Isn't it amazing how trees can be beautiful and shady but also they can block the fabulous view of the harbour. The room now is a lovely big bedroom with an ensuite.  We had to share the big bathroom which was next door with all the other girls. It has now been modified into two bathrooms, an ensuite and a bathroom for the other bedrooms.

I took pics of inside this beautiful house but I don't want to publish them here and invade their privacy any more. However, there are some beautiful photos of the inside here on the real estate site from when it was sold for $7.5m.

The owner chatting to Carol about how he wants to change the roof back to slate tiles and paint the woodwork white. Carol being and interior designer/architect was interested.

I found this an exciting visit to my old digs and was so impressed with the kindness of the owner and the house itself. There were quite a few changes. The carport didn't exist. There was a garage at the back entrance from a lane. It is still there. The back yard has been landscaped beautifully with a swimming pool and outside living area. The kitchen is huge with a family room next to it. When we were there that area was divided into kitchenette cubicles for each pair of girls. You can see it all on the real estate site above.

A BUDDING ARTIST

Our daughter, Carol-Ann, has always enjoyed sketching but recently she has tried her hand at painting. She has taught herself from You Tube. We encouraged her to apply to enter a piece in the Swiss+Oz Art Expo 2015. Her application was successful and one of her paintings was hung in the expo. We were invited to attend the official opening in Bondi in Sydney, So last week we packed our bags, jumped on a plane and went to Sydney for a few days.

 Carol-Ann was shy as she had to wear a badge saying 'I am an Artist' and she felt that she wasn't really in league with other artists but I don't think her work would have been accepted if it wasn't good enough.

 There was quite a crowd there and some interesting art.

 I liked this piece mounted in a window frame by Monique Rüeger.

 The exhibition was opened by the Swiss Consul General, Ernst Steinmann.

Some more of Carol's work is on her living room wall.

A TEDDY BEARS' PICNIC FOR BIRTHDAY BEAR

It was Ann's birthday last week and she invited the Birthday Bear Group to celebrate with an afternoon tea picnic in Daisy Hill Forest. Readers not familiar with our Birthday Bear tradition read here 

 Ann recently went on a trip through Australia with some friends from England. Ann and George did a lot of tour guiding. So Bear is going to help Ann with further planning of trips for English visitors.

All of Birthday Bears friends were invited to the Teddy Bears' Picnic.

A mother wallaby also joined us. She wasn't at all frightened of being near all the bears or people.

 I wore my new T-Shirt, "Made in England........a long, long time ago "

 We found a table and enjoyed cheese, crackers, wine and Birthday Cheesecake.  I didn't do a good job at photographing the whole Birthday Bear Group.  Chris brought her DIL and granddaughter because Bob was home sick. Helen and Paul left early as Paul is not at all well these days with his cancer. Mary somehow couldn't find us as she is not familiar with the picnic areas in the forest.

Bill and George found the best chairs and it looks like they shop at the same store for shirts.

Kookaburra kept a keen eye on the food.

THE NEW RIVER WALK

I have wanted to walk on the new Riverwalk since it was opened in September 2014. The original New Farm Riverwalk was built in 2003 but it was extensively damaged during the 2011 floods with part of it being washed away down stream. The walk connects the suburb of New Farm with the Brisbane city centre.  Finally we got to do the walk and a bit extra.

We drove to New Farm Park. A beautiful place at this time of the year because there are many, many Jacaranda Trees in bloom. Bill was organising his camera carrying vest while I was dazzled by the carpet of Jacaranda blooms.

It was a very dull day but also very hot and humid. I used a special effects setting on my point and shoot camera for the two shots above. 

We walked through the park down to the river, where we followed the path along the river edge but soon we were blocked by houses. This shot is looking behind us, where we had come from.

 We had to walk a few blocks before we got back to the river edge. As you can see New Farm is quite an affluent suburb. 

 We passed some new ferry wharves. They were replacements for those that were damaged during the floods of 2011.

 After about two kilometres we came to the  New Farm Riverwalk. The new structure is fixed, not floating like the last one. It is designed to last 100 years. It goes out into the river and it has a rotating span to let boat owners access their jetties. It is a pedestrian and cycle way with shaded rest areas. It is almost a kilometre long.

 We were getting closer to the city centre and the Story Bridge.

 Another special effects shot. The Riverwalk is divided for pedestrians and cyclists. There are many apartment blocks along the river with great views and prices.

 There are a few original houses squashed in between apartment blocks. I think they have much more character and beauty than the blocks.

The Riverwalk ended and we continued along a path under the Story Bridge. It was getting hot walking and we were looking forward to choosing one of the many restaurants at the riverside centre for lunch and a cool drink.

 Not far now. The Riverside Centre is the low white buildings below the tower with the spire. 

Looking back towards the bridge from near the restaurant. Poor Bill was as red as a beetroot. It was a long walk for him, over four kilometres. But we revived over lunch and instead of walking back to the car we........................

............caught the CityCat, a much cooler way to travel.