THE MELBOURNE CUP 2023

 The Melbourne Cup is a famous horse race in Australia. It is called "the race that stops a nation" because everyone stops what they are doing at 3 o'clock on the first Tuesday in November to watch this race. The people in Melbourne have a holiday and many celebrations throughout the day. The rest of the country celebrates too except the animal liberation protestors. I must admit I'm not a fan of horse racing but I enjoy the celebrations. Our village puts on a prawn and chicken lunch every year. We are encouraged to dress loud and proud. Fascinators and hats are an important part of dress on the day. A lady in our village makes hundreds of hats and rents them out to villagers. She gives the money to an animal shelter.

Volunteers run the sweeps, where we buy tickets with horses names on it but you don't know the name  of the horses until you open the tickets. If your horse comes first, second or third you win some money.

The lady with the black hat is Annie, the one who makes all the hats.

Here are a few that were left over.

Nanette made all the salads. The chicken and prawns were bought from the shops.

The best dressed prize went to Terry and Liz.

Most of us watched the race on the big screen. The horses were just going into the stalls.

Some watched on the TV in the library area.

Kathleen got excited when number three hit the front.

That night I received a photo from Sonya, our daughter in Melbourne. She had been invited to go to the posh Chairman's Club with friends who were friends of the trainer of the horse that won the race. He let his friends hold the prestigious Melbourne Cup, made of gold and worth $660k. What an amazing experience for her.

DENNIS LAKE AND LEARNING STUFF.

We went to our local lake, Dennis Lake, named after the first settlers in this area and who built the original dam wall to collect water for their animals and orchards. Bill wanted to take some photos to practice editing with our new Luminar Neo program. Unfortunately it was an overcast windy day, not too pleasant. I even dug out my Canon camera for change instead of using the iPhone 12 Pro. However, I have forgotten  how to manually adjust the camera and the old brain is slowly learning the editing program. Hopefully I will improve.

When we arrived we saw that the lake is partially covered with lots of yellow water lilies. It looked very pretty.

I had to zoom in a long way to the other side of the lake to capture some of the visiting Magpie Geese. I think the male is courting her but she's not interested and flies off.

She flies to a tiny island with two sad little trees that have been there for many years and look like they are struggling to stay alive. No rain isn't helping either.

We walked along the path across the dam wall to see some turtles. The ibis was checking them out too. These birds have become a prolific pest in urban areas and have earned the nickname 'bin chickens'.

There were loads of turtles on the logs and under the water.

There was a Magpie Goose having a snooze on the log. A couple with a dog walked past and when the dog barked the goose popped up its head just long enough for a quick snap.

Trying to remember how to use a camera again.

Bill trying to remember how to walk again.

There are nice homes around the lake. This one has just been built. It is huge.

TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN

 Our village social committee organised a bus tour for us to visit Tamborine Mountain, which is the name of a small town in the mountains. Our mountains are not very high but high enough to make the temperatures cooler than here on the coast. It is situated in the hinterland of the Gold Coast and is only an hour's drive from Brisbane. As you drive up the winding road the eucalyptus forests change into rainforest populated with a big variety of flora and fauna.

There are a plethora of walking tracks in the National Park, which was the first one in Queensland in 1908. The area has a history of farming, and timber getting but now it is a tourist destination for hikers, bird watchers and lovers of nature.  The local council have not allowed tourist attractions that spoil the natural environment. However, there is a treetop walk on a swinging bridge. When we were younger we often did hikes with the children. When we had overseas visitors we would take them there to experience a rainforest.

A photo from 2018 which was our last hike with visitors.

But now that we are over 80 we go to see other things. The area attracts artists, craft makers, wine makers and accommodation for holiday makers. So now there is a Gallery Walk in the main street. showcasing some of these activities. That is where our bus is heading. So no energetic hiking just a stroll down the Gallery Walk and then lunch at Cedar Creek Winery.

Besides galleries there are many shops selling just about everything and many coffee shops.

First up we had a coffee and a browse through the attached gift shop. I left Bill in the coffee shop with his friend, Patrick and I went to check out the Gallery Walk.

I found a Fudge shop with 40 different flavours.

How could I resist. I bought chocolate flavour and Turkish Delight.

It was time to walk back to the bus to go to lunch at a winery.

I was so proud of Bill who came without his walker and managed with a stick.

Lunch wasn't anything to write home about.

After lunch we walked to Frog Hollow to see a display of local frogs.

Then it was home after a big day out for us oldies.

GOOD JOB!

Since Bill came out of hospital, he has been improving everyday. He is back to his old self now except he still uses the rollator for stability and safety. However, he managed a walk around the lake at Underwood Park.  I was impressed. 

Around the lake we go.

Ducks galore.

We haven't had rain for some weeks. The lake is very low.

Melaleuca Trees love living in wetlands but they can survive in gardens.

 Moorhen

The water was murky but the lilies brightened up the scenery.

ISLAND HOLIDAY

 It's a long time since I have added to "My Story" where I have been scanning old photos and remembering my past. I have published it in a series of books but still haven't quite finished. I used to write it here first and then make a book but after a while I changed the system and just went straight into the book. But I'm going to continue here with snippets from the past.

Back in 1984 Just after my father had died, I promised my mother to take her on holidays. She always wanted to visit the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of northern Queensland.

So during the school holidays I took her and the girls to Lindeman Island. Bill had to work but he had recently been on a trip to Fiji, as a reward for using York equipment at work.

We flew to Proserpine and then caught a ferry to the island. The water was blue as blue and the weather was perfect even though it was winter. We stayed in a nice resort and it catered for families. There was a kid's club and loads of activities for everyone.

The kids go on a boat ride to a camping spot and stay overnight.

They loved playing in the pool and making friends. They were 10 and 12.

Feeding the Lorikeets.

We went on hikes through the National Park

Mum enjoyed her island holiday. 

One day we went on a launch trip around some other islands in the Whitsunday group. Daydream Is, South Molle Is, Hayman Is, and Shaw Is. We didn't do them all far too many. It was a great experience and beautiful scenery.

The resort on Lindeman was owned by P&O shipping line then but it was sold to Club Med in 1992. However, the resort was closed in 2012 after being destroyed by Cyclone Yasi. It was purchased by a Chinese Company, which was going to redevelop the site but the project failed. It was bought this year by a Singaporian family but there is still no redevelopment. We were lucky to be able to enjoy the place back in 1984.

A PINK PARTY

 One of our energetic, vivacious residents organised a Pink Party to celebrate her 70th birthday. It was a fun night with everyone wearing pink and enjoying dancing to the band and eating the delicious food, which she cooked herself.

Annie and her husband Herbie.

It's great to see the oldies up and dancing.

Everyone wore pink.

We sat with Tony and Lois. I used to teach with Tony's daughter, Donna.

Wishing Annie Happy Birthday under the pink flamingos.

So great to see Bill enjoying himself again.