More Good Memories: Mount Coot-tha, And Changed Riverwalk Access

More Good Memories: - Mount Coot-tha,  And Changed Riverwalk Access

We made the most of the rest of our stay in Brisbane, visiting Mount Coot-Tha; it's not far from Brisbane, and is not all that high! but it does enjoy extensive views over the city. 

We also saw more of the "Bin Chickens" - also known as "Tip Turkeys" -  they are really unafraid of people, and fly up on to the tables, to see what food they can nick!

Keith also invited us to have dinner with him at the Boatshed, a well-known restaurant, with a feature two-metre long flame grill. 

It is part of the iconic Regatta Hotel, one of the most elegant establishments in Brisbane; built in 1874, it was established as a modest, single-storey building, with iron-laced verandahs, and over the years has witnessed some of Australia's most memorable moments in its history. It is home to legendary sporting achievements and one of the first feminist insurgencies; it has withstood 150 years of change, withstanding flood and fire, and is still a place where the folk in Brisbane meet and create memories. 

When we arrived at the hotel, finding parking was an interesting experience! but Wendy is never discouraged. She dropped Keith and me off by The Regatta, before driving off to find somewhere suitable (and legal!) to leave the car. 

It was a lovely venue, and the building was very atmospheric, but when we got there, the Boatshed Restaurant was fully booked, and we would have had to wait an hour or two for a table to be free. However, there was seating available in the bar dining area; the menu was good, so we settled down there, enjoying a great meal, and a good natter about all we had achieved with Keith's help. He is certainly a great gentleman to know, when you need to find out things that are hard to establish!

A wall of photographs from the Regatta Hotel's past

Wendy and I were also treated to a wonderful cream tea in the Keri Craig Fashion Emporium; it, too, is situated in the Brisbane Arcade, and we enjoyed a champagne celebration easily comparable to those presented at The Ritz. 

Keri Craig is a fashion designer and model and, apart from providing memorable cream teas, her Emporium is a treasure trove of delicate clothes and beautiful ornaments, reminiscent of elegant items available at Fortnum and Mason. It is a place where we could easily get lost for hours in an imaginative shopping spree; a hidden gem.  

We also met up with Keith for morning snacks at Jimmy's on the Mall - when you know someone who has been brought up in the city, you will definitely find all the best places to go!

One evening, Wendy went on a solo stroll; the last time we were in Brisbane, in 2019, we had been able to take a river cruise from the Eagle Street Pier. The ferries were free, provided courtesy of the City of Brisbane, and she hoped the service was still available.

Sadly, it was not; but she did come back with some more pictures!

The Kitty Kat Ferry

A couple of random photographs of central Brisbane

And This Is A Model Railway And A Half...!!

 And This Is A Model Railway And A Half...!! 

This sign says it all... and I make no apologies for these wonderful pictures of the 

HO railway layout. (We need a bigger loft! We need a bigger garage...!) Enjoy the photographs.

We're about half-way through the Model Railway Layout photos - please keep enjoying the ride!

Did I say we need a bigger loft, or a larger garage? No, no, no... 

We need a bigger house!

Ipswich - Queensland Railway Workshops

 Ipswich - The Workshops Rail Museum, Queensland

On another day, we drove to Ipswich (no, not all the way back to Suffolk in England!), to visit The Workshops Rail Museum, Queensland - a very impressive facility, with a wonderful model railway layout to boot. Obviously built with love and care, we appreciated the intricate timetabling and the many different areas of Queensland featured over such a large area; we wished we had a couple of days more to take it all in, but at least Wendy and I had a fine taste of what was on offer. 

Wendy had been here before, and loved it; it was my first visit, and I was thrilled to discoverer what a fantastic place the Railway Workshops are!

Loco 444

Destination: Bowen Hills

Beyer Garratt locomotive and the manufacturer's plates:

This locomotive was commissioned in 1950, and restored in 1995.

This Class 1009 (Works No. 7349) Beyer- Garratt Locomotive was built by Beyer Peacock in in Manchester in 1950, for the Queensland Railways; it was one a batch of ten, but because there was a full order book for work in Manchester, the remaining twenty locos were sub-contracted to Franco-Belge in France. 

This class of locomotive is articulated in three parts; its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. This type of arrangement allows larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails, that could restrict large rigid-frame engines. 

A beautifully refurbished carriage...

and compartment

Some Reflections And Memories Of Brisbane

Some Reflections And Memories Of Brisbane

Once we were at Perth Airport, by which time Wendy and I had started to "wend our way home," I found I was able to think back more happily and objectively about Brisbane. 

Back in February, when we first arrived in Australia, we had hopes, fears and trepidation about what - if anything - we would find out about Uncle John; now, some weeks on, our memories tempered by other sights and sounds, and conversations with good friends, we can look back more pragmatically. 

Brisbane was indeed sad, but interesting. I've already written about dear Uncle John, and how we managed to achieve some closure; we found good and kind people who helped us, and who will, I am sure, remain good friends. After the sad business and investigations concerning Uncle John were all concluded, Wendy and I then felt free and happy to make the most of our grand tour of Australia: seeing dear friends we hadn't met up with for years (some for as long as 23 years!) and a couple of people we had only been in touch with through phone calls, letters and e-mails, both in Brisbane and other cities; We were looking forward to meeting them face to face at last. We also saw some great sights, and re-visited a few more places we had been to before, all of which will be good to think about, and remember in the future in a very positive way.

Walking along the streets in the centre of Brisbane, we saw several birds pecking for any odd crumbs they could find; because it has become a scavenger in the city, the Australian white ibis is now also referred to as a "Bin Chicken." 

Wendy's photos - 25th February 2024 - 11.52 a.m.

They strut along the streets, and can been seen anywhere and everywhere; it made us think of the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, loathed by some people and loved by others, who happily feed them the crumbs from their sandwiches.  

Whilst we were in Brisbane, we met a wonderful lady who owns and runs The Pen Shoppe, in the Brisbane Arcade. A talented calligrapher, she encourages people to create beautiful hand-written letters in elegant script. 

When I was at school, I remember having books in which I could practice my writing, with guide lines to show where the tops and bottoms of looped letters should reach, and a middle section to keep the "tummies" of letters like "a", "c", "e" and "o" to the correct size and spacing; and all this using an old-fashioned "dip in" pen with a nib! At school, I must have been thought to have a steady hand, because I was one of the Ink Monitors, trusted with the task of filling up the little desk ink wells with the large bottles of Quink Ink - it was quite a responsibility.

Occasionally, a blot would fall onto the pages of the copy book; this was considered terrible! but some girls smuggled tiny bottles of Jik (a bleach) into the classroom with them, to erase carefully any such problem. One tiny drop of Jik left you with a clear white page, but of course you could not write over that area afterwards as any new writing would also disappear!

The lady in The Pen Shoppe asked me if I would write something for her, and handed me an extremely elegant fountain pen, and a sheet of paper; I was happy to oblige, and it was a real thrill to hear her say how beautiful my handwriting was. All that practice, all those years ago, has not been in vain! and is still standing me in good stead.     

I wrote a Sonnet for her, "A Paean to the Pen Shoppe;" I was delighted when she said how much she liked it.

Penmanship - A Paean to the Pen Shoppe

There’s a charming lady in Brisbane

Who encourages people to write

Beautifully calligraphed missives

Each letter a cursive delight.

With a well-balanced pen ’twixt our fingers

The words flow with consummate ease

Imagination’s fired, billet-doux are inspired

With perfect messages certain to please.

For in these days of great rush and e-mails

Modern technology is put up on trial

As quantity overtakes substance

Little thought is given to style.

So just pause: take your time, and write beautiful script

That stems from a nib in flowing ink dipped!

Alexandra Wilde

March, 2024

Perth Airport - Ready For Our Night Flight To Singapore

Perth Airport - Ready For Our Night Flight To Singapore 

Flying back to Singapore from Perth had meant fewer options for flights with Singapore airlines; so that we could maximise the time we had in Perth, Wendy had booked us on a flight leaving at about 1.00 a.m. Although it meant a long wait at the Airport, we thought it would be good to have the chance to enjoy an extra day in Perth, visit Mundaring Weir, look round the Mundaring Weir Hotel, and we were glad it had all gone according to plan.

Sunset at Perth Airport

Nightfall at Perth Airport

Because we had had such a long - although very enjoyable - morning and afternoon at Mundaring Weir, after arriving at the Airport we still had many hours to wait before the Singapore flight departed. With this in mind, after checking in, we thought it would be a good idea to book some time in the "Aspire" Premier airport lounge, where we'd be able to relax, have a cup of tea, and some rather nice refreshments, including things even I like to eat!

Well, it certainly was a good idea, but when we first checked into the lounge, I was so weary, and - (I will admit it!) - quite tetchy; I'd already had enough of waiting for our flight, and there were still hours to go before we could get on board.  Where we first sat down, the air-conditioning was blowing really strongly; I don't like such a cold air blowing on my head, and I said so, quite firmly. We tried a couple of other double booth positions, but it seemed all the vents were on full blast, and I really wasn't in the mood to put up with it. After about four moves of trial and error in different places in the lounge, we finally landed in a position deep into the lounge, at the back, where there were sofas (not just chairs) and tables and, thank goodness, we were out of range of the chill.

Soothed by a gentle piece of wall art behind us, at last I could settle down happily, whilst Wendy went off to get us the complimentary teas, etc. to which we were entitled. Whilst she was choosing the food and something to drink, the hostess who was still on desk duty checking people in and out of the lounge saw Wendy and came over to talk to her. I think she probably thought I was a virago of a mother - (I could almost hear her unspoken words to Wendy: "You poor thing, having to cope with her!") - because she was extremely sympathetic to Wendy, and said reassuringly: "Have a drink on us...!" And she did not mean tea, but something much stronger! Well, we all know what a sweet, diplomatic, patient old dear I am... (DON'T WE?!) but Wendy certainly didn't turn the offer down, and thoroughly enjoyed a complimentary pink gin for all her pains.

In the end, we were both settled, with delicious food: there was soup, and rolls, with extra butter for me; chicken and rice (and I could have everything plain!) - it was very nice indeed, followed by a lovely selection of cakes, and tea. We both had our fill, and then - oh, the bliss - somewhere to curl up and doze on the sofas! AND we also ended up being allowed to stay there for about 4 hours, which I am sure was much longer than usual; but I also think that, apart from me being tetchy, we unwittingly flashed the age card as well, which brought kindness and understanding for the pair of us.

Thank you, Aspire Lounge!