This is one of our favourite weekend locations - the Bayside waterfront to the south east of Brisbane. Some days in winter you'd be hard pressed to pass another soul when you're out walking, especially if the football is on. So, imagine our surprise when we had trouble getting a park last weekend. As we got closer to the water, the reason became clear. Supermoon picnics, BBQs and photography sessions were in full swing all the way along the bike path that follows the waterfront. We did manage a few photos - the dogs weren't interested in stopping to focus the camera. This one is my favourite. Did you commemorate the Supermoon in a special way? As a child I hated history with a passion and I lay the blame squarely with the way it was taught. Dry, boring and non-relevant. As an adult, I am gradually falling in love with history all over again and its because the history I'm immersing myself in is Australian history. I visited Wickham Terrace this morning and visited The Old Windmill - Brisbane's longest surviving building, constructed by convicts in 1828. Originally, it was used in combination with a convict powered treadmill to mill grain. In 1861, it was converted to a Observatory and Signal Tower. A time-ball dropped at 1pm each day. The time ball was decomissioned in 1866, replaced by a canon firing at 1pm. The time-ball was recomissioned in 1984 and continued to operate until the City Hall clock tower came into operation in the 1930s. I walked up from the city, first taking on the historic stone stairs, then the concrete steps carved into the hill up to Wickham Terrace. I've walked this way often - a friend was in hospital up here for nearly six months. I find Wickham Park (pictured) truly spooky. I've never seen grass under these trees. They are incredibly old and I get a feeling of a ancient forest each time I come here. Its a very different park to the usual Brisbane sunshine-and-lawn open space. On the way back down to the city, I caught a glimpse of City Hall. The contrast between the spooky park and the sun-bathed city was too good to ignore, even if City Hall is now dwarfed by the city buildings. I recently "took tea" in the Original Shingle Inn, reconstructed inside City Hall. If you're visiting the city any time soon, I highly recommend it. I was instantly transported back to a frigid winter's day in 1979 - the first time I ever visited the Shingle Inn. Sadly, I can't give a recommendation on the food. I was too busy with the fittings and fixtures. The only thing I didn't enjoy - they took the orders on tablets. Wouldn't it have been nice if the wait staff recreated the original Shingle Inn experience as well as the fittings and fixtures did? I didn't read a variety of things in May - instead I concentrated on Jean M Auel's sixth book in the Earth's Children Series - The Land of Painted Caves. I always thought, as I waited inpatiently for this book to be released, that I'd re-read the five previous books and then launch into this one. That didn't happen. Instead I went in cold and the enjoyment I expected isn't there. This book is very much Ayla's journey, and in some respects I think that is the problem. Her husband Jondalar seems to be very much in the background as Ayla continues her journey. The will they-won't they cloud that dogged their relationship in previous books is gone, and I suspect that's why I am struggling with this book. I still love the imagery, and the detail that has gone into the story, I'm just missing the romance. I'm about a third of the way through now. Fingers crossed the story takes off in an unexpected direction and I end up enthralled, right to the end. |
Fiona Greene AuthorWhen you set out on a journey and night falls, that's when you will discover the stars." Archives
November 2022
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