Thursday, March 28, 2013

Easter Greetings!

Thursday 28th March, 2013

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Easter.  If you are travelling please drive carefully.  Too many lives are lost on the roads at this time of year.  I hope you all have a wonderful time with your family and friends. 


I must say I prefer Easter over Christmas.  This time of year is so much more relaxing, no rushing around attending Christmas parties, having to plan a banquet feast, or shopping for gifts.  Easter eggs and chocolate are so much easier to buy.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

A Lot Of Hoo-Haa About Nothing

Tuesday 26th March, 2013

Today saw the unveiling of the new Harris Scarfes' store in Rundle Mall.  It was rebuilt on the old Harris Scarfes site and is now known as Rundle Place, consisting of 2 floors of Harris Scarfes, a food court, Coles, 70 Specialty shops and offices.

I decided to go in and meet Tony after work and go and check it out.  What a lot of hoo-haa about nothing! But then again I suppose it is the media's and HS publicity department to talk it up seeing that shop retail sales is dwindling.  Buying online seems to be most peoples preferred way of shopping these days.




Yeah it was busy in there, a lot of nosey people like us I presume.  With Harris Scarfes having only 2 floors, all their stock and departments seemed to be piled on top of each other and it looked very cluttered. Most of the specialty shops are on the ground floor.  A new Apple store is opening later and some of the other stores were Pandora, Crabtree & Evelyn, David Lawrence, Jigsaw, La Vie En Rose, Serafina, Ted Baker and Florsheim.

Let's hope that in a few years it doesn't turn into a white elephant like the Myer Centre.

We went down to the lower ground floor to see what the food court was like.  Hmm I wonder how long some of these places will stay in business.  Will it be like the food court in David Jones?  Some of the eateries were Fasta Pasta, Salsa (mexican), Subway, Warong, The House Yum Cha, T-Bar, Rheinland Bakery, Yiros, Fresh Junction, Sushi and Tepinyaki. 

Tony and I decided to try the Mexican and so we had Nachos.  The best Nachos we've ever had was while we were in Sydney and so we seem to compare all others to them.  These weren't too bad, a bit too much tomato for my liking. 



A stage had been set up out the front of  Rundle Place and so we decided to hang around and watch the free concert.  Justice Crew and The Collective were the two acts.  Both groups were great but I loved The Collective.  These were a group of young guys that had been put together while auditioning for the X Factor last year.  They are supposed to be Australia's answer to One Direction!




-
Justice Crew




The Collective

Justice Crew are a hip hop band who won Australia's Got Talent last year.  Not really our kind of sound but they were good too.  Lucky for Katie and her music, at least we knew most of the songs they performed.  In between the acts they had a DJ and it was like listening to Katie's play list from the car.  Tony and I were way out of our depth with all the screaming girls, but it took me back to my day when I did the same for Normie Rowe, Johnny Farnham, and Ronnie Burns.

Now "put your hands in the air, get your hands in the air......" seemed to be the catchcry of the evening.


Monday, March 25, 2013

Happy Birthday Tony!

Monday March 25th, 2013

Happy Birthday to my sweetheart.  I hope your day is as wonderful as you and that the year ahead is overflowing with oodles of love, laughter and happiness.  I Love You!!!

                                                          Although your channel hopping
                                            Tends to drive me to distraction

                                            Although you'd rather take a nap
                                            Than take some form of action

                                            Although you'll leave the seat up
                                            Even when I raise objection

                                           Although you'll never stop and say
                                           "Perhaps I need directions......"

                                           Although you make strange noises
                                           When I try to sleep at night

                                           Although you sometimes fail to see
                                           that I am always right

                                           Although you make me crazy
                                           With so many things you do....

                                           Not a day goes by when I know
                                           I am so glad I married you



That was written on his card that I gave him.  I can relate to just about all of it, he especially picked out the bit where it says I am always right......lol.  After reading his card he wanted to know when John Sands rang and interviewed me for what I wanted printed on it.............hahahahaha

Thursday, March 21, 2013

How Fickle Is The Weather......Not Like Our Politicians?

Thursday 21st March, 2013

How can you go from 33C yesterday to 19C today?  Is it because of the Equinox heralding the beginning of Autumn? We are having showers, which I'm not complaining about, but it's windy and it feels like Winter.  Aaargh!!  

Why are we never happy with the weather?  When we reach our senior years we should be happy that we wake to enjoy another day on this wonderful earth.  Yep, I'm not going to complain anymore, I'll just enjoy each and every day from now on.  

Yeah right!!! LOL 

Now onto politics.  I don't understand a politicians thinking.  In Australia we have a Prime Minister who is Julia Gillard.  She represents the Labor Party.  Tony Abbott is the Opposition leader.  He represents the Liberal Party.  If the Liberals get into power and form government they usually join forces with the National Party to form a Coalition.


Tony Abbott, Liberal leader

It has already been announced that we are going to the polls on September 14th this year.  For several months now the Labor Party have polled dismally.  If an election were held today the Liberal Party would be elected to government with a huge majority.  Labor would be practically decimated.

Why do some of the Labor politicians keep supporting Julia Gillard?  It is quite obvious the average voter dislikes her intensely.  Yet the pollies keep supporting her.  Don't they realise that their seats are not safe and they could be out of a job as well.

Take today.  The PM announced that there would be a vote among the Labor Caucas to elect a new leader.  Everybody expected Kevin Rudd to end up being the new PM but he didn't challenge.  

About twelve months ago he tried to depose Ms Gillard but he failed.  Kevin Rudd is the voters favourite to lead the Labor Party.  She has not got all the Labor politicians supporting her as there are some who are Kevin Rudd backers.  Those who are Rudd supporters and were Ministers in Gillards' government have resigned and been sent to the backbench.


Kevin Rudd, previous Prime Minister

Back in 2007 Kevin Rudd was elected as Prime Minister of this country.  In June 2010 Julia Gillard challenged him and she won.

So, we still have Julia Gillard as the PM.  For how long I don't know.  They have now gone on holidays for the next 6-7 weeks and the rumblings will continue. Why don't the politicians go to Gillard and tell her, seeing that she is so unpopular among the voters to stand aside and let someone else take over the leadership.  


Julia Gillard, Prime Minister

Just do it, for the good of the Labor Party and for the good of government in this country.  When the Liberals get in with their vast majority we will have no effective Opposition.  Don't they say......a good government is only as good as the opposition.  If there's no opposition what hope has this country got?

A similar situation exists in South Australia.  We are governed by a Labor Party who's on the nose and when we have the State election in March 2014 the Liberals will win hands down.  Labor will lose so many seats and this state will end up with no effective Opposition either.

In the words of one commentator....."politics is a dirty, stinkin', filthy business".

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Tragedy In The Skies Of Adelaide

Sunday 17th March, 2013

Today is St Patrick's Day.  For the Irish it is a special day in their calendar. Happy St Patrick's Day to all those who celebrate it!

This weekend we didn't have Katie.  Last week she had been sick and on Friday night was the movie/disco night that she likes to attend.  She had also planned to spend some of the weekend with her school friends.  We were happy with that.  I have told her a million times that we are more than happy for her to spend time with her mates than come to us for the weekend.  As she is getting older I think it's good for her to have friends over and for her to go to their places too.

On Saturday Bob rang and invited us out for tea.  They had more of the "Split the Bill" vouchers and this time they were going to the Rosewater Hotel.  From the outside the hotel is old and dingy looking, you would walk past rather than go in, but once inside we were surprised how nice it was.

The food was great!  Tony and I had Thai Prawns, Robyn had Garlic Prawns and Bob had his usual steak.  For dessert us girls had Apple and Custard Crumble and the guys had Strawberries and Cream. They also had a great selection of salads and hot vegies from the salad bar.  That's one place we wouldn't mind going back to.  Looks can be deceiving.....who would have thought we would have a nice meal from there.

Today, there was an air show at Parafield Airport.  It was to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of powered flight in South Australia plus to raise money for restoration work at the Classic Jets Fighter Museum.  As Tony likes his planes we decided to go and have a look.  They had several Antique and Classic aircraft on show plus a few of them took to the sky to show the crowd what they were capable of.  



Chris Sperou and his plane were just finishing their acrobatic aerial display when we got there.  



The next plane to take to the sky was a Boomerang.  We watched it do it's manouvres.  



Then came a replica of the Spitfire.  The plane was on it's third fly past when suddenly it rolled a couple of times and was lost behind the trees.  

The crowd were waiting for it to come back as the next plane, a T-28 Trojan was on the runway ready to take to the sky.



An announcement came over that the Spitfire had been involved in a mishap but at that stage they had no further information.  About 10 minutes later it was confirmed that the plane had crashed, but the fate of the pilot was unknown, and as a result all other scheduled flights would be cancelled.  People stood around in disbelief, no-one really knowing what to do.  

Eventually we all started to make our way out of the airport.  Tony had heard that the plane had come down not too far away from the airport and so we went to have a look.  It was not until we got to the scene that we learned that the pilot had been killed.  Luckily the plane had come down into the carpark of the R M Williams factory.   Some 200 metres away was an oval where a soccer match involving children was being played.  



Thank goodness plane crashes in Adelaide is a rarity.  It was a tragic end to what was otherwise a good day.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Catholics Have A New Pope

Thursday 14th March, 2013

This morning we woke to the news that a new Pope had been elected.  Back in February, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), announced that he was going to resign the Papacy.  Now this is something that is unheard of.  Once a Pope they usually stay a Pope until their death.  Apparently he was suffering some health issues plus it had been leaked that there were other internal issues going on.

All the Cardinals from around the world were summoned to the Vatican so that they could choose the next Pope.  They have to have two thirds majority before a new Pope can be chosen.  If there is no decision black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.  When white smoke appears, that indicates a new Pope has been chosen and this is what happened this morning our time.



The new Pope comes from Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The first time in over 1000 years that a Pope has been chosen outside of Europe and the first from the Americas.  His name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio and will be known as Pope Francis I.  

                                                                            Photos courtesy of Adelaide Now website

Tony, being Catholic has no interest whatsoever that a new Pope was elected, whereas me, being a non Catholic finds the whole process fascinating.  Just reading snippets about this guy it sounds as if he has modern ideas except he is anti abortion, anti gay marriage and anti contraception.  

His life in Buenos Aires was a simple one.  He turned his back on chauffeured cars, living in luxury, instead opting to catch buses, living in a small apartment and cooking his own meals.  He spent a lot of his ministry helping the poor.  I think he may be a peoples' Pope.

Let's hope that during his reign as the Pope there will finally be some closure on the terrible sexual abuse claims that have been covered up in the Catholic Church.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Finally Some Relief From The Heat

Tuesday March 12th, 2013

Hopefully today is the last of the hot weather for awhile.  They are forecasting a cool change to come in around midnight and then the temperature tomorrow will be 25C.  Hallelujah!!  But then, next Tuesday the temps will climb again to around 30C.

Our long weekend was uneventful.  We spent it home doing odd jobs around the house.  Tony even shampooed the hallway carpet.  It looks as if we will have to get someone in to either replace the hallway carpet or do some repairs.  We have got a large offcut of carpet but whether it will be enough I don't know.  The carpet in front of the sliding doors that lead to the courtyard has started to rot due to the sun.

I know I have to replace the curtains that hang at the sliding doors as when I last washed them I noticed that they have started to rot.........not bad for 19 years.  The carpet is just as old, but has shown no signs of wear (maybe that's because we don't wear shoes inside) and the hallway is always used, no matter where we want to go in the house we have to use the hallway to get there.

Happy Birthday Andrew!!  Hope you have a fantastic day and a year where all your wishes are fulfilled.



Saturday, March 9, 2013

So Over This Hot Weather

Saturday 9th March, 2013

I am so over this hot weather!!  Looks like it will be with us until next Thursday.  It has become so monotonous.....hot during the day, the clouds build during the afternoon, we get excited for some rain and nada, nothing.  This morning we had about 20 drops of rain which only just made it hot and steamy.


Once I used to love the humidity.  Not anymore.  These days it just drains the energy out of me.  This past week I haven't done much at all.  We were hoping to go and see some Fringe acts, especially this weekend seeing it is a long weekend here.  But nup we have decided to stay home and chill instead.  I have not been too enthused this year about the Fringe, haven't heard many rave reviews about the acts   The only one that did have some interest for me was Circolombia.

Friday night we had been out for some dinner and a wander through the city.  Imagine our surprise when we were heading home and saw this outside the service station just up the road from us.  I know petrol prices have increased recently but surely not to this extent!!!


Tony went in to let the attendant know but seeing it was after 10:00pm and the night window had come into effect he was unable to leave the shop.  He said that some kids had changed the numbers around.  Phew!!! thank goodness for that.  I wonder how much business they lost that evening?

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Just A Waste Of Money

Wednesday 6th March, 2013

Wow we are having a real blast of a late Summer.  So far we have had the warmest nights ever for March, and our 3rd highest daytime temperatures ever for March.  The daytime temperatures have been in the mid 30's with next Monday and Tuesday's forecast for 38C.  The overnight temperatures are in the mid 20's.  Tomorrow and Friday are going to be humid (we are supposed to get some rain), but I'm not holding my breath.  

Tonight we all waited with bated breath while the government unveiled a new "brand" for our state.  The government apparently wanted something that would be easily recognisable like the Maple Leaf is for Canada, and the Silver Fern for New Zealand.

This is what they came up with.......


Oh dear, how is this going to sell our state?  Most people overseas wouldn't even know what a map of Australia looks like, let alone where South Australia is.  And they left Tasmania off the map. To me it looks like an advertisement for a building company or a home loan agency.  $1.4 million they paid some guy to design this.  

They said that the crowds gathered in Elder Park for the unveiling.   Hmmmm, so half a dozen people is a crowd?


Does this make a bold statement of our place in Australia and our place in the rest of the world?  I think not! Oh well, it will just give more fodder to our interstate counterparts to poke  more fun at us South Aussies.



Friday, March 1, 2013

Mad March Is Here!

Friday 1st March, 2013

Well February floated on by and now March has come to take it's place.  This past week has been a mixed bag weather wise.  We even managed to get a few spots of rain.  Not enough to water the garden but it was refreshing as it seemed to clear the air and the smog and the smoke.  The weather bureau said our Summer was the hottest summer that Australia has ever recorded, and that is despite all the floods Queensland and northern New South Wales have had to put up with.

Last weekend, with Katie, was spent swimming.  The temperatures here were in the high 30's and so both days were spent at the pool.  On Saturday we went down to the Aquatic Centre at Marion.  She wasn't happy, they didn't have the diving boards open, there was a swim meet in progress, and the other pool was set up for lap swimming.  She doesn't like swimming in the heated pools anymore.

On Sunday we went to the Adelaide Swimming Centre.  Here she was much happier, the diving boards were open and she could swim to her hearts content in the larger pool.  Unfortunately we couldn't spend as long here as Kahra and Darrin were flying back from Melbourne and we had offered to go and pick them up and take them home.

Yesterday was the start of the Clipsal 500.  This is a car race that goes through the streets of Adelaide, on the eastern side of the city.  It runs until Sunday.  This year should be better, it's not just Ford v Holden, Nissan and Mercedes have now got teams in it.  Tony was given tickets to go Thursday but he didn't end up going, he had too many meetings plus being the last day of the month he said it was not a good day.




Today is the official start to Mad March.  Tonight there was a free concert in Elder Park to mark the start of the Festival of Arts.  Performing, was Paul Kelly and Neil Finn (of Split Enz and Crowded House fame).  We didn't go ( their music is not our cup of tea) but we drove through the city around 9.00pm and there were people everywhere.  It was the busiest we have seen the city in a long, long time  The signs were up that the concert was full and as we drove past people were outside on the footpath, "hanging" off the bridge.....it was bedlam!  They were using any vantage point that they could get.



                                                                    All photos from Adelaide Now