Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 23 April 2017

Thank you Diane for another brand new week! Lovely sturdy animals are Shetlands. My father bought a Shetland pony for us. He had nasty big yellow teeth that bit wimps like me. A sister, fearless, would do acrobatics on his back.

I agree that it is time our OG was home.

Trip saga finale. Last day, 1½ hour drive to meet train, so an early start 8 am. We had missed our time in Maryborough on first day (remember train breakdown), driven through in the dark, now we had a brief walk in Civic Square and a drive to the impressive Railway Station. On to Ararat where the fit & fast went for coffee in main street. The rest of us guarded our luggage on platform, checked the souvenir shop, and our leader counted heads – 29 he announced, but our group was 24, ah, we are not the only ones catching the train. Speedily aboard, luggage stashed at end of carriage, just a block of seats allocated and we were off. Boarding in Adelaide had required a boarding pass, a show of photo ID and specific seats. Country stations more casual!

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Soon after passing Dimboola, loud cheers as our group recognised where our engine had failed. Other passengers must have wondered at our high spirits. Lunch & snack from cafe car, snoozes between. At Belair, knowing it was another 20 mins to go and we were arriving early, I phoned OH to give him time to meet me, as previously arranged. No answer. Is he asleep in front of TV? Phoning between tunnels, still no answer. Finally I ring his mobile. Oh, he is waiting already in carpark.

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Some general comments. Many from SA went to this area seeking gold in 1850s, including my ancestors, some with more luck than others. So it was interesting to see the hills & gullies, tall trees (not the same ones as firewood and mine shafts needed wood). Mullock heaps dotted everywhere. The presence of gold is obvious in the country towns, large impressive buildings, many now unused – town halls, mechanics institutes, libraries, churches, various govt buildings, private houses. The high cost of the licence fee and the harassment of miners to check licences was the cause of the Eureka Stockade at Ballarat 1854.

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The 1851 gold finds in Victoria had a drastic effect on South Australia. Men walked off farms, shepherds abandoned flocks, crews deserted ships, shop-keepers closed, police force reduced, newspapers closed. Men set off to Victoria by ship, horse, dray or on foot, those with money in the bank each withdrew £10-£12 to purchase supplies of food, tents, shovels, picks, etc. The gold licence fee was 30/- per month. Wives & families were left behind to cope as best they could. Some men never returned. But those that brought back gold, could purchase their own farmland.

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This central area of Victoria has towns quite close together amid the farmland. Much higher rainfall than our state. Bigger population means more amenities. When we visit a SA country town on our Sunday bus trips, we are almost the only people to be seen and very little is open – a bakery or cafe if we are lucky. I was amazed in Daylesford on a Sunday that it seemed like Xmas Eve! Cars parked along main street, more cars driving past, people streaming up & down, shops & cafes doing a roaring trade. Travel opens one’s eyes. So endeth my trip saga. My photos are coming slowly. Today the centre of Victoria.

Good Morning from sunny Cheshire. I'm hoping to get something done in the garden today, as I was diverted from my plans yesterday.

Thank you to Diane for once again cheerfully starting us off on a new week.

Here's my pic for today:

"I'm only resting -  it's been a busy day!  And that's not a tree, it's my Mum!"

Back later......

AQ - I hope to get 10 mins later today, to come back and read your travel account right through, with time to study the pictures, too.

It's sunny here, and we've planted some bedding into pots but it'll have to go into the greenhouse for now as such cold nights are forecast this week, it's too soon to put anything tender into the garden.

DIANE thank you for starting the week off.

LINDY   love the baby elephant.   Back to the sound in cinemas. I would have stayed till the film to see if the sound was better, but OH had, had enough, He suffers from tinitis, so noise is an issue for him anyway.

Dibnlib:   My OH has mild tinnitus, too.  He hears it mostly when he is at rest, though, and there are no other sounds.  I'll let you know what I think of the film - it has a lot of famous actors in it, we noticed.  We're hoping to see it tomorrow.

Annette:  I saw that it was Earth Day.  We had several events here in UK, which can be seen on the BBC News website. Some good slogans about the value of Science on their boards!

We've been so warm, we've been sitting in the garden.  Pruned a lovely acer tree this morning, which unfortunately seems to have a lot of dead branches, so we lopped lumps off it in the hope that it will regenerate, otherwise it will have to go, sadly.

LINDY    Not warm here at all and only going to get colder as from tomorrow inc snow forecast for Mon.

This is a pic OH took at Findhorn Bay on Wed.