Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 21 May 2017

For some bizarre reason, my favorite Sunday morning political/news show has been preempted by Arsenal playing Everton!!!

ANNETTE - that's the kind of thing which happens here - sport over-rules everything!

I thought I had to apologise to OH for my remarks about changing the planting pattern in the troughs; he tried to tell me he hadn't, then today he had to agree that he had mistakenly got the plants in the wrong order in just one.  I guess, being accidental, it has to be forgiven - and he has said he will put it right!  Poor dear, he has been very busy!

I now have something to do!  Church newsletter approaches and five pages needing transcribing from handwriting have appeared on my desk!  Not sure which of us will compile the newsletter, but at least I can do the typing.  OH wants us to change to using Publisher (which I wanted to use in the first place) but I don't really feel like doing something different my first time back - have even been needing to learn to use the computer after such a long absence - really wrestling with saving files into folders this afternoon!  (Not helped by him having set up two folders for the year 2107 - guess that was also accidental!)

I was hoping for better news from LG. I’ve just read the long blog.

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Linda – Surely you can delay your return from your cruise. Detour via Aussieland perhaps?

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OG – I’m not surprised you are bored, but isn’t the specialist visit soon? Thank you for the details of Robert Owen & books. If they are not in bookshop, I can suggest them to Dau#2 who is always looking for ideas for books for me. She gets them online. At C-mas she gave me “The Tory Widow” by Christine Blevins and followed it with the sequel for my birthday. Fiction, the story of a woman trying to survive in New York at the outbreak of the American Revolution.

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Heather – My father loved cold leftover roast on bread & butter. As for me, I usually find ways but my OH doesn’t enjoy them. Too bad - waste not, want not.

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Diane – Thanks for starting us off. . . and with a bright cheerful warbler.

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I may be back later when I collect my thoughts on yesterday’s bus trip. (Yes, Annette, another trip!) First I’d better get out of night attire as it is past 9 am. And then there may be chores, do you think?

Bus trip saga. I don’t have yesterday’s photos processed yet but some links and previous pics to illustrate. First stop for coffee, etc at Kapunda. North past Scotty’s grave. Allendale, only Wheatsheaf Hotel (-34.30131, 138.91337 remains). Hamilton, visit to stunning St Matthew’s Anglican church (-34.2223, 138.8795), built 1896 by wealthy landowner for Dau who drowned. Small (seats 60) but highly decorated. I’ll let you know when I publish interior pics. Drive around Hamilton to see ruins of school, blacksmith, etc. Next through Marrabel, home of the annual rodeo (pronounced roe-day-oh in Aussiespeak). These settlements are close because this was the main route to Burra when the copper mine opened 1845. Usually about 10 miles apart, the distance travelled by bullock wagons in a day. Now many settlements have disappeared.

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Past the Pancharpoo church (-34.0365, 138.8792), closed 1964. Since my visit Oct last year half the tall gum trees have been hacked & lopped, exposing church the passing vandals I fear. In Waterloo, note the wee council chambers on corner of main road & Sydney St. A drive around back streets – there aren’t many! Next to Black Springs (-33.898, 138.889). Again not much to see. Lots of fine horses on one farm adjacent to Victoria St. White painted church began as Wesleyan, became council chambers, then residence & wine chop, purchased by Andrews, later became Lutheran but empty since it closed last Sept.

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Now we set off across country, on back roads to the closed Emu Downs church (-33.9163, 138.992), now private, at cross roads of Black Springs Rd & Hallelujah Hills Rd. Our tutor brought a DVD to play Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus as we wound along the twisting road crossing the Hallelujah Hills (-33.89 139.05). But the driver couldn’t find the right track, so we enjoyed other tracks which sounded quite appropriate for a Sunday anyway. We took our own food & drink for our lunch stop in Burra Creek Gorge (-33.832, 139.04). Obviously a favoured camping spot, lots of caravans. [Gee whiz, these days all mod cons, not only tables & chairs, but solar panels. A far cry from my camping trips in Flinders Ranges c1970 with a tent, sleeping bag & a log for a seat.]

After lunch, heading along Lower Bright Rd to Geranium Plains Lutheran church (-33.99, 139.19). Homeward bound, to Eudunda for a brief stop. Only supermarket & toilets open. From there back to city after a wonderful day out.

Hello all

Thanks, AQ, for your travelogue, I look forward to investigating the links.

The sad events at LG will be on our  collective mind (  if there is such a thing in grammatical terms!).Ospreys brought us together, without them there would be no Chat Page.

Take care, all

Good Morning, Everyone.  That's true, Heather, it's brought us together.

Sunny and dry here.

Will go back later and read your travelogue, AQ, but we're off out already.

Here's today's pic:

"But they said 'mouse!', so I thought......"

Morning all: I see an unhappy resolution on the Daily Update. But as Heather says, that's where we all met and we wouldn't be busy filling up the ethernet with our blather if that weren't the case. Margo would've been devastated at the outcome.

Oh my AQ: Can't keep up with you. But thank you for adding links!

OG: Two files marked 2107? EE is clearly thinking ahead. :-)  I've filled up our shredder three times with old paperwork and ditched an equal amount of less-private docs into the recycling bin. Am going to start on OH's office closet soon where OH keeps ancient software discs (and floppies if you can believe it - I doubt anyone under 30 knows what a floppy disc is).  Also, how many packets of ball-point pens does anyone need?  Oh, and if the world ever runs out of packets of Post-Its, we will make a fortune.  Have fun with the church newsletter.

If anyone is looking for a fascinating book, I'd recommend Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. I have to take my copy back to the library today - they're already sending overdue notices, but I've really enjoyed going to Google Earth and following his trip (sorry AQ, but he was gone for 5 years starting in 1831!).  He had no camera, so it's wonderful to visit the same places, especially as GE has the Rumsey Historical Maps overlay. I dropped in on Lima, Peru and brought up the 1859 map (no Street View!) which gave me an idea of the size of the city when Darwin visited it.  Like everyone else, he went gaga over Tahiti but was not enthralled with what he saw of Oz at that point - still Tahiti would have be a hard act to follow at any time I imagine.

Off to Tai Chi class this morning. A lovely slow exercise that's good for balance and the brain, but I'm on a steep learning curve getting legs, arms and brain coordinating beyond the usual.

Whale count is now officially done until next February.  A good average year for calves.

Today is OH's birthday; we're out to dinner tomorrow.

Hi, all.  Had an interruption yesterday (visitors after church who didn't know when to leave) so poor OH is still trying to catch up indoors!  Fence man came today to do his last wee bit of cementing.  Today was a big shopping day in Dumfries for OH, then a busy afternoon preparing fresh food for freezer (under supervision).  Looks like final catch-up will be tomorrow, then he will be starting to remove stuff from deck for its replacement next month.  Hope this dry sunny weather continues through the week.

AQ - another trip last weekend? you really are getting about a lot this year to make up for the enforced rest last year!

HEATHER - sad about youngest chick at LG, but so pleased dear EJ went fishing for herself.

LINDA - I hope you had a good day out today - how long are you intending to stay this time?

ANNETTE - pleased whale calf count was a good year.  Well done with all the shredding!  Enjoy your OH's birthday meal!

Must now work on newsletter for church told OH that was what I was coming in the study to do!

OG thank you for your short but to the point post on DU..

Wanted to post all weekend but couldn't think of the right words.