Australia – Page 3 – Mick and Liesel's Antics

Tap Success

‘Who cuts the barber’s hair?’ is a longstanding conundrum. Ideally, another barber, I suppose. And so it is with Helen. She had her hair coloured at home by a fellow stylist/client, and she reciprocated. This is why Liesel and I absquatulated, making our way to the public library in the Mall, Liesel with her PC so she could do some work, me with my keyboard so I could do some writing.

As recommended by Helen, and before settling in, we stopped at Girdlers for breakfast.

I’d forgotten the joy of ‘working’ in a library, surrounded by mainly young people studying. In the olden days, there’d be a pile of books, open, a couple of note books maybe, a calculator, and a pen being being sucked. Today, they had a laptop, a phone, but only about half of the students had any books. Most wore headphones too, either listening to music or maybe to a lecture.

Funnily enough, when we first arrived in the library, there was a group of very young children over in the corner, singing songs with gusto. And there was no elderly librarian peering over her specatacles going ‘shhh!’

After a while, I went for a wander (oh, alright, and a coffee) and I found this metal art sculpture.

Unfortunately, I could find no title nor attribution. Maybe I should claim responsibility?

Other than walking around the Mall, we didn’t do much exercise today. But it’s good to have the odd day off. But the following day was busier.

An early morning trip was planned for the airport. Helen and I went to meet Pauline and Andrew on their arrival from Christchurch, NZ.

While waiting outside her apartment for Helen to pick me up, I took this picture of ‘the hill’ on Pine Avenue from the top end. The photo still doesn’t give a real idea of how steep it is. You’ll just have to pay a visit yourself.

The early morning ‘rush hour’ traffic was horrendous: I’m so glad I never had to drive to work in those traffic jams. The flight landed early, but it took a while for my sister and her partner to appear, thanks to a medical emergency on board the aeroplane.

It was the first time we’d seen Pauline and Andrew since Jenny and Liam’s wedding just over 18 months ago. So of course, it was delightful to see them both emerge from behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, Helen had to dash off to work as soon as we arrived home. After settling in, P, A, L and I went for a jolly nice walk locally. The destination was Stony Range Botanic Garden. I think we all expected a Botanic Garden to be a beautiful arrangement of flower beds and rose gardens maybe with some garden ornamentation. But no. It’s a botanic garden specialising in native Australian flora. There’s a well-defined path, a few slopes and steps.

At the time of our visit we were lucky to be able to hear the birdsong even above the noise of the demolition work next door. I’m sure on a quiet day, it’s really pleasant in here.

I pointed out an active brush turkey nest to my sister, but she didn’t believe me: she thought it was some kind of compost heap.

Well, she has a point. The male birds work hard to build these ridiculously large nests.

At one point, visitors enter a rain forest area and, on cue, it started to rain, but only lightly. We’re invited to notice the variation in temperature from one section to another.

We witnessed a couple of brush turkeys lurking in the bushes, but neither of them seemed inclined to show us how to build a nest.

After leaving this little slice of nature, we walked around the corner to a place called Brew and I. ‘Have a Brewtiful day’ suggested the notice on the wall. We did. Coffee plus a cookie (Liesel and I shared), egg buttie (Andrew) and pastel da nata (Pauline).

We can’t seem to avoid the Mall and today was no exception. Who says history doesn’t repeat itself? Pauline bought herself a pair of sandals, same model, same colour as those purchased by Liesel a few days ago at the very same shop. As Liesel said, they are now ‘sole sisters’…

In the evening, we attended Seventh Day Brewery for another pub quiz. We had pizzas from next door. Helen drove us to the venue and Brent joined us from work.

The quiz was good fun, but the acoustics in the place were awful. Way-ay t-too m-much reverb-erb in-n th-the sp-space. It’s hard to describe but it was very difficult to hear what he was asking some of the time. Still, a pleasant time was had by all. And no, our team didn’t win. But we did alright!

The last time Liesel and I visited Sydney, five years ago now, we bought Opal cards for use on public transport. This time, we’re just tapping on and off with our credit or debit cards. After a few failed attempts on the buses, I now know that any problems are likely to be due to faulty machines rather than something wrong with a card or the phone. In fact, now, seeing the payment machine flash up the message ‘Tap Success’ gives a little dopamine hit, a surge of relief. Probably not as exciting as winning the lottery but you take it when you can! You have to tap on and off buses. You have to tap on and off most ferries. You don’t have to tap off the Manly-Sydney ferry in either direction. Fares are capped daily and weekly, and you find out a few days later how much you’ve actually been charged.

And so to the big city. A bus and a ferry took us to Sydney where we walked to Chinatown. I thought it might be a hot and sweaty walk but in the end, it was cooler today, so a very pleasant jaunt.

A very modern city but every now and then, you see an old buiding nestling among the glass and steel of the late 20th and early 21st century.

We passed by another intriguing, geometric sculpture, made by Herbert Flugelman in 1979.

We visited the world-famous Paddy’s Market, hundreds of stalls selling wares that none of us wanted to buy. Even the Rubik’s cubes and variations thereon had little appeal.

We admired the iron latticework adorning the balconies of The Miramar apartment block. We have no idea how much one of these apartments would cost to buy or rent. We’re not Russian or Chinese oligarchs, after all.

We did encounter plenty of Chinese eating places in Chinatown. So of course, we chose to have lunch in a Malaysian restaurant instead. Once you get used to it, reading Malaysian menus is quite straightforward: kari is curry, teh is tea, kopi is coffee, ais is ice. We all enjoyed our various curries. But I am very grateful to Andrew for not telling us about the monster cockroach that was playing under our table. Mind you, I didn’t tell anyone about the baby cockroach I’d seen in the toilet, either.

It’s always good to see a well-designed mural. But I wasn’t too sure about this one until I learned that it represents Aboriginal elder Jenny Munro who is still with us and campaigning hard for Aboriginal rights.

We spent a pleasant couple of hours walking around the Chinese Garden of Friendship, where Helen joined us after finishing work.

The koi carp in the pond were immensely jealous of the attention given by visitors to the many lizards on the paths and rocks.

Inside, we saw a small but fascinating exhibition about tea. The beverage was apparently first enjoyed by a man sitting peacefully in his garden, underneath a tea bush, nursing a cup of hot water, when some leaves fell off, straight into his cup. What are the chances? His first thought, of course was, I wish I had a biscuit to dunk.

Andrew and I had a nice chat with a blue-haired girl who lives near Canberra because she can’t afford to live in Sydney, and who is three quarters Bangladeshi and one quarter Japanese, a most unusual and exotic combination, I thought. I felt awkward about asking if I could take her picture, so I didn’t.

Back at home (thanks for the lift, Helen), we ate outside: Greek salad at Pauline’s request, plus falafel, hummus, bread and tzatziki. Very nice, very tasty. No, it really was delicious.

A Hard Day’s Walk

Although we’re ‘on holiday’, Liesel is still working ‘from home’. It’s a different home though now of course. At this time of year, there’s a five hour time difference between Sydney and Anchorage. They’re five hours ahead, but a day behind. So on this ‘day of rest’, Liesel worked hard, while I rested. Well, somebody’s got to do the resting. And then I wrote for a couple of hours.

Down the road at Brookvale Oval, a very important rugby game was taking place. We thought about going to watch, but didn’t quite make it. But we enjoyed hearing the crowd cheer on the home team, Manly Sea Eagles who were playing Sydney Roosters. The National Rugby League competition is very popular, judging by the size of the crowd and the noise they made. The Sea Eagles won by 21 points to 14.

But how do we know it was a big crowd? Well, later on, as we were driving into Manly for dinner, we passed many, many fans, walking away from the park, or waiting for buses, or holding up traffic by crossing the roads, most dressed in the maroon and white colours of Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Rugby League Football Club, to give it its full name.

Our destination was Saké Manly Wharf for some iconic Japanese dining. Me, well, I’m always a bit cautious around Japanese food, I just can’t forget that undelicious lump of gristle found infesting my ‘vegetable’ soup that time in Japan. And then of course there’s the time someone persuaded me that oyster sauce was made from oyster mushrooms, not actual oysters!

But tonight’s experience was much better. We had a selection of dishes, all of which were delicious, edamame, crispy tofu, tempura eggplant, broccolini and, well, I’ll have to see the menu again the remind me. Thank you Helen and Brent for taking us out.

There you go, now you know what Brent looks like! Thanks to the waiter who took the picture.

Nobody had dessert apart from me. Helen ordered me a dragon’s egg, and of course, I had no idea what to expect. Later on, I asked my AI friend to explain:

ChatGPT 3.5

Mick

At Saké Manly Wharf, they serve something called a Dragon’s Egg. What is it?

ChatGPT

The Dragon’s Egg at Saké Manly Wharf is a signature dish featuring sushi rice, spicy tuna, and avocado wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber, resembling a dragon’s egg. It’s a popular and visually appealing dish known for its flavors and presentation.

Mick

No it’s not. It’s a dessert, it has chocolate

ChatGPT

Apologies for the confusion. The Dragon’s Egg dessert at Saké Manly Wharf is a chocolate-themed dessert. It typically consists of a chocolate shell filled with various decadent ingredients such as mousse, cake, or fruit, resembling a dragon’s egg in appearance.

Mick

Why didn’t you say that in the first place?

ChatGPT

I apologize for the oversight. Thank you for providing the correct information. If you have any further questions or need more details, feel free to ask!

Mick

I’d rather ask my eight-year old granddaughter, thanks though

ChatGPT

Of course! If you have any other questions or need assistance in the future, don’t hesitate to reach out.

ChatGPT can make mistakes. Consider checking important information.

Oh don’t worry, I will. Never trust AI. That’s my tip for the day.

Anyway, this is what it looks like.

It’s a chocolate egg on a crunchy hazelnut base, with some fruit, coconut mousse and rhubarb compote. The waiter pours hot miso caramel sauce over the egg, melting it. The whole edifice is presented on a base from which dry ice creates some atmosphere. So good. From my point of view, definitely not for sharing!

I’ve mentioned the hill up which we sometimes climb to reach Helen’s apartment. It’s actually located on Pine Avenue, and I tried to take a picture to show its gradient. It’s no Baldwin St, Dunedin, but it’s still quite a challenge for this old corpse.

Back to the new normal, Liesel and I caught a bus to Palm Beach. It’s a long ride, via Dee Why, Long Reef (where we visited a few days ago), Narrabeen (where we might go soon) Mona Vale and last stop, Palm Beach. It was a glorious day for a walk.

At Palm Beach, we could have walked further north to reach Barrenjoey Lighthouse, but instead, knowing we had a fairly long stretch ahead of us, we had a quick coffee at the Boathouse coffee shop attached to the local golf club. I broke the law by taking my ease here.

Well, I reckon having purchased a couple of cups of coffee, we were indeed patrons.

Our first goal was about five and a half miles to Avalon Beach. It was a lovely walk, but tough going in places.

The first real challenge was the very long staircase near the beginning. I say staircase, I can’t think what else to call a long climb, up steps, outside. How many steps? Probably over 200, but I kept losing count. Phew.

Just the start of the stairway to heaven

Another pair of walkers passed us a few times, at first walking north towards Palm Beach, then later on, overtaking us as we, more slowly, or should I say, more sedately, made our way south.

The lowlight of the day was bumping into and chatting with a local couple. The lady was nice, but the bloke was an out-and-out racist, who knew a lot of things that the government were keeping secret, he said, tapping his nose. I wished him a good day while inside, wishing I could block him like I do all the other right-wing nasty conspiracy theorists I come across on Twitter. Oh well.

We haven’t really tried a selfie recently. So here’s one of our first attempts, near Little Head, although having used the so-called ‘portrait effect’ on my phone, it could be anywhere really.

The views over the ocean were of course stunning. And this whole area seems to consist of nothing other than very big houses, some of which belong to or are rented by ‘celebrities’, although who these celebs are, our book refuses to say.

We saw a couple of whales today. Not real ones, of course, but this is one of our first sightings of Whale Beach over the houses and through the trees. This is the reward for walking up a long, long hill, along what passes for the main road, although there wasn’t a lot of traffic on it, thank goodness.

Another heart-sinking moment, seeing a sign that said:

WHALE BEACH IS UNDER THREAT

A developer has applied to the Land and Environment Court for a restaurant/event venue allowing up to 182 patrons and staff at 231 Whale Beach Road. It will require up to 50 additional parking spaces. This is utterly unsustainable. Don’t let it happen.

JOIN AND SUPPORT FRIENDS OF WHALE BEACH

That’s progress, I suppose. But it’s funny you never see a sign that says the local community has come together and they would like to build something big in the neighbourhood.

At the end of Whale Beach, there’s another open-air pool, and again, I probably spent far too long watching the ocean waves crashing onto the rocks behind the pool.

So where’s the other whale you said you saw, Mick?

Right here, adorning the local facilities.

Still, it was better to see Whale Beach than a beached whale, I suppose.

We enjoyed listening to various birds as we made progress, including kookaburras. I played the recording of a kookaburra that I’d made on our last visit, five years ago, loudly from my phone, several times, but nobody responded.

It was a good job that we’d chosen to do this walk today, bin day. The bins blocked the pavement in many places, meaning we had to step onto the road. And the kerbs here are much higher than those at home, providing a good work-out for the old lallies. But at least, fewer people park their cars on the pavements here.

Crunch time. We turned off the road onto a path that would take us to Careel Headland Reserve Lookout. Another long, intimidating flight of steps. Body says no. I’d fought through all my attacks of shortness of breath so far, but here, I knew I had to stop, or at the very least, have a nice long rest with food and drink, plenty of time to recuperate. I was running out of water, and of course, we didn’t bring snacks with us. I thought I was letting Liesel down, but she too was beginning to flag.

Squished on the ground, and drawing our attention to the canopy above, we were delighted by the bright colour of the berries on this tree. As usual, not 100% sure of the identity.

We walked a short way along the road, bought a snack and a drink at the petrol station, then caught the bus back the Mall. We visited a café called The Best Chocolate Cake In The World, and had coffee, avocado on toast (Liesel) and a cheese and tomato sandwich (Mick), but no chocolate cake on this occasion.

We did a big grocery shop in the big shop, Coles, and caught the bus back home, walking down the stairs, rather than up that pesky hill.

Since you ask, Liesel made very nice, very tasty artichoke galettes with asparagus for dinner tonight: we were joined by Helen but no Brent.

According to Liesel’s Fitbit, we climbed the equivalent of 28 flights of stairs, so we’re not complaining.

More beaches, birds and boats

After breakfast, I blogged for a while, after which Helen took me and Liesel back to Manly where we enjoyed a walk along the seafront, bumping into Bambi and Gypsy. What are the chances? Well, of course it was a planned meeting.

We continued along to Shelly beach, seeing a few more water dragons on the way – or were they the same ones again? I guess we’ll never know.

We had a drink in the Boathouse, where we were joined inside by pigeons, and by brush turkeys. I had an iced coffee. A proper iced coffee as I’ve always understood it: coffee with ice cream, a thick milk shake. As opposed to American style iced coffee which seems to be a teaspoon of actual coffee in a cup of ice cubes.

Helen and Bambi had other commitments, so Liesel and I walked towards Queenscliff: it’s a target but we also wanted to investigate the swimming pool there.

Much of the beach was taken up by the many Surf Life Saving Clubs from New South Wales. Lots of competitions in the sea featuring mostly young, fit people.

My ears perked up at one announcement, however. This was the last chance for the 65-69 and the 70+ competitors to come to the starting point. Well, sadly, I hadn’t registered and I didn’t have my budgie smugglers with me but mainly, I’m not a good swimmer and certainly not a surf life saver. So I thought I should give the others a chance.

The whole scene was very festive, so we sat and watched for a while.

We never did get to see the pool at this end of the beach but instead, walked back to Manly.

It took a while for me to stir my stumps in the morning, but Liesel was working anyway. We had planned to go for a walk around Narrabeen Lagoon, but we didn’t quite manage. While Liesel was at home working, I went off to the Mall for a couple of things. The battery icon on my pedometer was flashing, so I replaced the battery. It’s very important that my step count each day is accurate. Liesel and Helen just don’t understand that future historians won’t be able to study my step count spreadsheet properly if there are gaps due to ‘a dead battery’.

More importantly though, I needed a SIM card for my phone. I was hoping to get by without one, but after a few days, I realised that the phone’s gobbling up data way faster than anticipated, and I don’t really know why. So I now have an Aussie SIM card and I am back on the Optus network, just as I was five years ago. If you call or text my UK number, I won’t be able to respond for a while.

I took the 193 bus home. This is the one that goes up and above Helen’s apartment, so I can walk down the 70-odd steps to her place rather than up the intimidating hill.

Helen was off work today and despite the heat, she was outside weeding. Did I offer to help? I was about to, when she came in. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Later on, I was sitting outside writing, when I was attacked by a beastie. It was small, white and dangerous to know.

My extensive research leads me to the conclusion that this is a baby praying mantis. No matter how often I blew it away, it returned to my left arm. What’s wrong with my right arm, I wanted to know. At least it didn’t bite, but it was very difficult to focus the phone camera on it.

Another sunny day greeted us. Helen was working in Curl Curl and she kindly gave us a lift there. We applied sunblock while sitting in the shade of a bus shelter.

We came across some good news: 1000 native trees for Curl Curl!

As part of the NSW Government’s ‘Greening our City grant’ program, 1000 native trees will be planted in this area.

Once the weeds are under control the first trees will be planted in 2024. Planting will continue into 2025 until all 1000 trees have been planted.

By the end of the project, over 30 different species of native trees, shrubs and groundcovers will be planted, with more than 3000 plants planted in all.

The public is invited to get involved and participate in the planting phase of the project

Together can make Curl Curl a cooler, greener, and more connected place for our community and wildlife.

So the sign said, at least. And I thought, I could help out here. Then I remembered, I didn’t even help Helen in her own backyard, I’m not going to be much help planting trees.

We followed a very pleasant path along the coast, all the way back to Manly. We encountered loads of dogs, none of which showed any interest in us. And, where they were supposed to be on leads, they were on leads. How about that, English dog walkers?

The hike was mostly flat, but we took fequent breaks anyway, mainly to keep my SoB under control. And yes, I do see the irony in coming all the way here for some sunshine, and then taking every opportunity to sit in the shade.

Again, we didn’t have our swimwear with us, so we couldn’t swim in this open air pool. One day, though, it does look very inviting. And away from the relatively violent sea: you can see the waves crashing at the back.

In Freshwater, there is a Public Art Installation in McKillop Park, as part of the Coast Walk public art program.

This public artwork is by mili mili, a First Nations-led public art team

Here is a sneak peek at the sculpture: it’s currently hidden behind a fence.

Also in Freshwater, we sat and watched a learner surfer. The waves here are much smaller than we’ve seen elsewhere, but he seemed to be making progress.

The beach is picturesque, yes, but just look at those clouds! Liesel described them as ominous, but it didn’t feel like rain was coming.

We thought we were being followed, and when we turned round, guess who we saw?

Not enough birds? In a park in Manly, we encountered a swarm, a flock, of cockatoos.

Liesel went for a massage while I wandered around. Again, I am in admiration of all the young, fit life savers. Three Beans called my name again and I later found myself in the Manly Art Gallery and Museum. It wasn’t very busy, but some of the artwork was interesting.

The Secret Lives Of Us by Ashley Jean Gerber

The artist says: “My artwork comments on the diversity of Sydney, as seen within Taronga Zoo. The inspiration to use photography as the medium stemmed from my deep admiration for the stillness and reality that is captured. Patience is also a very enjoyable part of the photographic proccess, as taking the time for that perfect photo makes the outcome extremely satisfying.

The focus on animals is not only because of my diversity concept but also because I have always had a strong and deep connection with animals – often I find them easier to communicate with than humans.”

Walking by the wharf, I enjoyed the antics of this chap.

Despite the many signs telling us of their presence, I never saw any little penguins. I met Liesel in the library: she’d had a really good massage and felt much better for it.

After my best night’s sleep so far on this trip, we returned to Curl Curl. Liesel swam in the pool at South Curl Curl, but I really wasn’t in the mood for a dip. The water was cold, but still, Liesel got a few lengths in.

I sat inside to drink my coffee milkshake, and then I watched a surfer for a while. He waited for a suitable wave, stood up, and began to ride the wave back towards the beach. I could do that, I thought. Then he fell off. I could definitely do that, I thought.

Back to Manly by bus, lunch at Three Beans, then, for the first time this trip, we took the ferry to Sydney’s Circular Quay

First sighting of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, both iconic

Because our book said you had to catch the ferry to Cockatoo Island from Barangaroo Wharf, we traipsed across the city. On arrival, we discovered that we could have caught our ferry from Circular Quay after all. A long, hot, sweaty walk through the city, all for nothing!

The ferry ride to Cockatoo Island was short, and smooth.

We were here for a nice walk, it’s more of a historical site than we’d anticipated. The island has been used as a convict penal establishment and more recently for shipbuilding. Not a lot of vegetation remains, so it feels a bit stark, compared with other places we’ve seen recently. But I thought this was quite pretty:

Sunset Sessions is a series of musical shows taking place here on this small island until April. I don’t know who was performing tonight, but way over there, at the Accor Stadium in the old Olympic Park, Helen and her friend Helen were amongst 75,000 fans watching P!nk in concert.

It started to rain while we were on the second of two ferries taking us back to Manly. It should have been quite refreshing after a hot day, and it was, a bit. From the wharf, we walked over the road and dined at Vietnam Why Not. Why not? No, that’s the name of the restaurant. My tofu satay was delicious but boy, was it hot, spicy hot I mean.

The bus took us to Brookvale Oval from where we walked back to Helen’s. Yes, we walked up the hill, and again, I managed it in one go. Even if I did have to lie down indoors afterwards!

Beaches, birds and boats

Liesel and I gatecrashed Helen and Brent’s regular Sunday breakfast date at Little Collins, a lovely little place in Freshwater. Aka Freshie. The meal was great, but even though we’ve come all the way here for some sunshine, we did have to ask for the blind to be brought down to shield us from the Sun. When I say ‘gatecrashed’, don’t worry, we were invited. This is Helen and Brent’s regular Sunday morning, before he goes off to the daily grind.

After Brent left for work, the rest of us drove into Manly. We wandered around the street market for a while, before the main event, the reason we were here: we’d all booked a massage.

Helen and Liesel went to the massage place and I was left to my own devices. Which meant of course, after a break of five years, a return visit to Three Beans Coffee. I enjoyed my coffee and pastry while sitting on a bench, in the shade, by the smaller of Manly’s two beaches.

As the time of my appointment approached, I hoped the recently consumed, large, very tasty, very enjoyable croissant wouldn’t affect my appreciation of the massage. It didn’t. It seems the therapists are allowed to use a lot more force in Australia compared with those at home. I thought I’d come away with bruises all down my backbone, but there is no external evidence of the pain and discomfort I went through. But, I think everything, every muscle, tendon, ligament and bone, that was displaced during the 24 hours sitting on a plane has now been put back where it belongs.

Back at Helen’s we showered off and Helen’s friend Jacqui collected and drove us to a barbecue at Nat and Rob’s house. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and the view from their place is stunning.

View from Nat and Rob’s house towards Sydney

Helen lived with Nat and Rob for a year between moving away from Manly and moving into her own place here in Brookvale. Nat and Rob have two boys, about whom we have heard a lot over the years: Hamish and Sebby. So, what do all these people look like? Where are the photographs, Mick? Again, I failed to take pictures of people. I’ll be getting the sack at this rate.

There was a lot of chat during the afternoon, and to accompany the music, the soundtrack outside was supplied by some crows.

A few of the guests made use of the open-air pool, but Liesel, Helen and I had left our swimwear back at home.

Rumours that the telecope is used to spy on the neighbours are, of course, unfounded. But I did manage to focus on Sydney or Westfield Tower or even Centrepoint Tower as it used to be known. Trying to get a good photo though, with my phone, through the telecope, proved impossible.

We sat outside eating, drinking, chatting until late in the evening. Seb and Hamish went to bed. Brent joined us after work. The incense sticks seemed to do a good job of keeping the mosquitoes away, although Liesel did find a bite on her ankle a couple of days later.

Later on, I felt bad, because while most people had been drinking, Liesel remained sober and was thus able to drive us home in Brent’s car. This left Jacqui to walk home on her own. If I’d been more on the ball, I would have offered to do the right, gallant, thing. Grrr.

I’ll be trying to keep the Antics reasonably up to date, and with this in mind, I sat outside and did some writing in the morning. Liesel is doing some work here on and off, for Amrit too, so we can both keep ourselves busy, in between walks and other activities. While sitting outside, we saw a beautiful blue butterfly fluttering by, but never settling long enough to be photographed. Later research suggest it was probably a blue triangle, and we’ll certainly be on the lookout for more examples. Helen was elsewhere, working.

It was another beautiful day, and we walked back to Westfield Warringah Mall.

Bin chickens! No, that’s not an Aussie expletive, but the name given to the white ibises that wander round, looking for food and redistributing litter from the bins. We saw one on a school playing field and of course, my first response was to take its picture, even though we’ll probably see thousands more in and around Sydney. Quite rightly, Liesel was concerned that a casual observer might think I was taking illicit photos of the students at the school. You have to be so careful these days.

From the Mall, we caught a bus to Manly but we didn’t realise this bus went the long way round, via Freshie, and we recognised some of the locations from our walk a couple of days before.

As we walked by the beach, we shouted words of encouragment at the beautiful young people playing volleyball. We would have joined in, obvs, but we didn’t have our outfits with us.

No, of course we didn’t really shout at anybody, words of encouragement nor anything else. We walked along the path to Shelly Beach, a familar route from years past. It was good to see the water dragons are still thriving and yes, I took a picture at the first opportunity. This one’s quite well camouflaged.

We passed by more dragons on the way back to Manly, some underneath benches on which people sat, totally oblivious to the menace underneath them. Here’s another one, more out in the open.

The wildlife wasn’t wholly reptilian on this jaunt. We encountered our first brush turkey of this trip too. It had to be shot.

Shot photographically, I mean.

Back in town, we purchased a snack which we consumed on a bench looking out to sea, watching the swimmers and surfers having a great time. Then came the announcement. At home, bluebottles are harmless, if annoying, flies that come into your house and then can’t find their way out again. Here, bluebottles are nasty, common visitors to Sydney’s beaches. Also known as Pacific man-of-war, we usually think of them as jellyfish that can sting. The public address system told us that several had been sighted close to the beach and that it would be a good idea to leave the water. Some people heeded the warning, but many didn’t.

Liesel had an ice cream and I had a mint choc chip milk shake before catching the bus back to Brookvale.

A couple of fellow passengers were very obviously out of their gourds on chemicals, harmless enough, but the girl was very talkative and she was eccentrically adorned in the head department. Like a new Steig Larsson novel, almost.

It wasn’t planned this way, but Helen arrived from work in perfect time to pick us up from the bus stop.

Brent works on Saturdays and Sundays so his weekend is Monday and Tuesday. On his day off, he drove us all to Long Reef for a very pleasant walk around the headland. I can’t remember who first noticed the pelicans on top of a lamppost.

Further along the path, we watched a young paraglider take off. No long, fast run-up like you always used to see, just a short, sedate walk to the edge and there he was, gone. Liesel and I didn’t need to say anything out loud, our respective looks said that that was something we don’t need to try, thanks very much.

Actually, it does look fun, but I’m sure if I had a go, I’d forget how to use the controls and then crash into a bush, like the one time I rode a moped.

The other day, I failed to take a picture of the blue triangle. Today, I successfully captured possibly its earlier metamorphic self: a very hairy, spiky and slower-moving caterpillar.

The path was well-made, it was a very comfortable walk. Brent spotted a native in the bushes.

We didn’t actually see him poke his little blue tongue out, so this might be another misidentification.

Dee Why beach looks very attractive in the distance, and I’m sure we’ll pay a visit one day.

Dee Why beach with the back of Helen and a tantalising first glimpse of Brent

At the coffee shop, I surprised everyone by having a mango juice instead of my default, hot, beverage.

Today Liesel and I had our first Aussie pies of the trip. Helen, Brent and I chose pies with a spicy Mexican bean filling, absolutely delicious, and Liesel opted for a spinach and feta cheese filling. Not sure it was feta though.

We’d had enough sunshine and fresh air, so in the afternoon, we treated ourselves to a movie. Bob Marley: One Love was very interesting, but we agreed that the ending was very sudden. One of the main attractions, was the air-conditioned cinema! The woman in front of left after about half an hour, maybe she was expecting a Bob Marley concert. The four of us were the last to leave having watched some of the credits.

Hoyts, the cinema, is in the shopping mall. After Helen and Brent went home, Liesel and I went shopping. Or, to put it another way, after a coffee, Liesel went shopping and I just mooched about.

As shopping centres go, this is quite a pleasant one. I just wonder what it’s like if it’s ever as crowded as Manchester’s Arndale Centre, for instance?

In the evening, we visited the Harbord Hotel, known locally as the Harbord Hilton. Not because we were slumming it for the night, but so that we could join Helen and Brent’s team for the Pub Quiz, aka Trivia. We were joined by Jacqui, who we met a few nights ago, and by Jo, another friend. Team name? Norfolk ‘n’ Chance featuring Blue Meanies. Liesel and I are the Blue Meanies, since we’re both big fans of the Beatles. Right, Liesel? Oh and no, I still didn’t take pictures of our new friends.

We enjoyed the quiz, in fact we did quite well considering other teams had up to 15 members!

Brookvale!

Singapore Changi Airport is, I think, our favourite airport, on planet Earth, at least. We only had a couple of hours to pass between flights to enjoy the quiet atmosphere, helped a lot by the carpeted floor. We missed out on the butterfly farm and the koi pond this time, but I’m sure we’ll visit those attractions on another occasion.

The other thing I like is that the airport authorities here haven’t felt the need to cram the space with ‘retail opportunities’. You can walk quite a long way along wide, spacious passages without seeing a shop, not even a coffee bar.

The only downside is that the cigarette smoke doesn’t know to confine itself to the designated smoking areas.

The second flight wasn’t as comfortable as the first: more crowded and hotter. Plus, my neighbour smelled really bad. Again, the crew acquired some decent veggie food for me. So, five stars for Singapore Airlines.

On the way to Sydney, I watched one complete film, Dune, and maybe half of another, Meg 2, during which I nodded off, but, to be honest, I don’t think I missed much.

Helen picked us up from the airport, it was lovely to see her, after having had not much sleep for 24 hours. This was our first visit to her (not so new, now) apartment in Brookvale. Needless to say, we didn’t do much before going to bed. We didn’t have the best night’s sleep ever, of course, but it was nice being horizontal. We couldn’t help but notice how much warmer it is here than at home. Funny, that…

Meanwhile, back at home, Martha and William were celebrating World Book Day. Meet Hermione Grainger and Mr Fox:

Helen was woken up by a kookaburra, but I didn’t hear it, so I must have slept for some of the night.

We drove to Manly passing by some familiar but mostly unfamiliar sites. And I did manage to take my first wildlife photo of this trip.

Maybe not the most exciting creature, I know, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

The plan was to have brunch with Helen’s lovely friend Bambi and her gorgeous baby Gypsy. We met at The Pantry, on the sea front, where we have eaten before but not for about five years.

Sun, sea, sand and blue skies, what else could you ask for? Well, in my case, a veggie breakfast. It was a joy to meet Bambi after all this time, Helen’s told us so much about her, and I think most of it is true.

So, what does she look like? I’m sure we’ll be taking pictures of grown-ups over the next few weeks, but yes, of course I took pictures of Gypsy!

The next port of call was the shopping mall. Liesel bought a pair of sandals, having thrown the old ones away. And I bought my first Aussie coffee on this trip, from Café Léluna. Very nice, very tasty.

Back at Helen’s place, it was nice and quiet, apart from a few exotic birds. I hope to be able to identify them at some point. Either there’s a very talented blackbird around, or maybe a mynah, or someone really did set off a car alarm.

In the evening, Helen’s partner, Brent joined us for dinner. It was the first time we’d met, of course, and he seems like a very nice young man! So what does he look like then? Well, you’ll have to wait to find out.

Because I have now disappeared from the UK for a while, my final Wythenshawe Radio show for the time being had the theme of Disappearance. You can listen here. You don’t have to, of course, but… FOMO?

Helen was working all day Saturday, so Liesel and I went for a walk. We planned to visit Freshwater Beach. Well, the first thing we noticed was, how hilly it is around here! Another stark reminder of how flat Northenden and Wythenshawe are. Again, we resolved to go for walks further afield at home, try and conquer some of those Peaks. Just to say, I struggled on some of the slopes.

I don’t know if Google Maps just likes to play jokes, or I’m still half asleep, but at one point we turned right when we should have turned left. We never did make it to the beach. But we did come across Freshwater Brewing Co where we enjoyed a coffee and a muffin (Liesel) and a huge almond croissant (Mick). It seemed a shame to miss out on the beach, but we decided to cut our losses and head back to the shopping mall again. We knew that, from there, we could walk home. And there’s plenty of time to visit all the various beaches around here.

Yes we did and sorry we didn’t visit this establishment

It’s late Summer, early Autumn here, although it feels like mid-Summer to us rain-drenched miserable Brits! Some of the flowers here are beautiful of course, with lots of bougainvillea all over the place.

We found our way home, taking our time. Even though this was meant to be a quick, gentle, introductory stroll, we walked over four and a half miles, so it was good to stop and have a lie down.

Well, I haven’t so far taken pictures of Helen’s friends and partners (apart from Gypsy) but I did capture some more wildlife.

This little chap was visiting Helen’s patio and of course, I couldn’t approach too closely.

I thought I’d take a look at the night sky. Such a dark sky, despite being close to the big city, Sydney. We’re hoping for more dark skies later on, and after a bit of experimenting, I took this picture.

I was very pleased it came out so well. The only accessory to the phone I used was a chair , on which I had to place the phone, pointing in the right direction. I set the timer so there would be no vibration at all.

And a jolly good night’s sleep was had by all.

Being on Top

We all like being on top of things, and sometimes it’s easy. Just look at William reach the top of the climbing frame before you’ve even realised he’s no longer standing next to you.

We’d gone over to Bruntwood Park, the playground behind William and Martha’s school, where we met up with the family. One of the reasons for going was that Martha wanted to use the metal detector, one of her Christmas presents. By luck, I had a few coins in my pocket that I was able to ‘plant’ for Martha to find. Seeing the excitement on her face was worth every penny!

Here’s Blossom, one of One Stockport’s frogs, from the Gigantic Leap Frog Art Trail.

In this sort of environment, William nearly always wants to play hide and seek, so we usually do, but he does like to reveal his location before you’ve had a proper chance to seek him out! And the climbing frame was very appealing. Even if Martha can’t tell the bottom from the top.

On Tuesday, we collected the children from school. Back at home, we gave them one final Christmas present each. Late, because William’s didn’t arrive in time for the big day: A Magnetic Magic Cube that can be manipulated into over 70 different shapes. Returning it to the Cube shape is not as easy as it looks. But he does enjoy playing with my (non-magnetic) cube, so we thought he’d appreciate it. Next step, a full-on Rubik’s Cube! Martha likes gems and stones so we thought a small box of such treasures would be interesting. It was. Martha particularly liked placing them on the Lazy Susan and spinning it, thus discovering centrifugal force!

After a lovely dinner, Jenny took the children home and Liesel went off to a WI meeting.

You know it’s the end of the holiday season when Thrive Walks start up again. The very first one of the year was attended by nearly twenty people. It was a nice walk through the woods, not as muddy as we’d anticipated, but it hadn’t rained for at least half an hour, which is unusual, lately.

In other family news, Helen celebrated her birthday in Adelaide with Brent. I liked Adelaide the one time I visited, over 21 years ago: maybe it’s time to go back? I wonder if it’s changed much…

Helen and Brent are on top of things here too, tasting wine, visiting the zoo and having a great time.

On Friday, Liesel and Sue joined the WI walk while I attended the regular Thrive Walk in Wythenshawe. This time, there were just the six of us! After taking a bus back to Northenden, I walked back home via Riverside Park. The river is much lower than even a few days ago, but of course, there is some debris for the council to clear up.

In other family news, Pauline and Andrew enjoyed the kite festival in Christchurch, New Zealand.

And no, they didn’t have one of their own kite: maybe next year? On another occasion, they enjoyed a walk by the estuary and encountered a herd of cormorants.

Well, I think they’re cormorants, but they might be shags. And I really don’t know what the collective noun is for either.

Liesel and I witnessed the children’s first swimming lesson of the year, and it’s always fun to watch. They had an exhausting morning though. Before swimming, they’d both enjoyed a kick-boxing tester session. To complete their triathlon, they cycled all the way from home to both venues and back home again. So you’d think that, come lunchtime, they’d be tired and quite happy to sit still and eat the meal. Not William, oh no. Up and down like a jack-in-the-box, full of energy: he’ll get a job at Duracell one day.

My radio show this week was on the theme of Being On Top. What a coincidence! Bit of a cock-up when Wythenshawe Radio WFM 97.2 broadcast it, though, no news, not my fault, but you can listen to the whole shenanigans right here on Mixcloud.

Terrific Pacific

After a relaxing day, we drove into Manchester. Time for a gig. We throughly enjoyed the performance by O’Hooley and Tidow at a fantastic venue, new to us, Hallé St Peters. The show was to promote their new record, Cloudheads, but of course, we’re special, and we received our CD, signed, a couple of weeks ago.

We found seats just four rows from the front and before the show proper began, we were digging the music, man, songs by Rodriguez, whose story is interesting but quite sad, really.

Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow sang songs old and new, told funny stories, and the audience was spellbound. Nobody was chatting and apart from a couple of glasses being kicked over after the interval, there was no disruption.

I had a quick chat with Belinda in the interval, told her I’d played their records on my show, and when I told her my name, Mick, she knew my surname straightaway. I’m not quite on the A-list, but getting there!

I received my postal vote: there are local elections in May. I knew who I was going to vote for, and, given all the election literature I’ve seen so far, I was beginning to think there was only one candidate standing. So what a surprise to see some others on the ballot paper. I was tempted but in the end, I didn’t vote for Sir Oink A-Lot, of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party, because, well, I’m not entirely sure he’s taking it very seriously.

In our local church, St Wilfrid’s, there was another celebration of Sir Edward Watkin. I paid Geoff for the book of his I’d bought a few nights ago and he told me about a painting that had hung at Rose Hill for many years. Someone wanted to sell it for charity, expecting to raise about £100. In the end, it was valued at £4 million.

Sir Edward funded some of the stain glass windows in the church, and they are indeed very bright, even on a cloudy grey day such as this was.

The Millennium Banner was obviously a labour of love. The wall hanging which stretches along one side of the church was made in 1999, mostly by members of the Women’s Group, to mark the turning of the millennium. It shows scenes and motifs from the history of the previous 2000 years, some very local, others national, global or even cosmic. Spoiler alert: this is how it ends:

I’d gone along because The Edward Watkin Society, also known as WatSoc, had organised the week of events. On display here today were several letter sent from or to Sir Edward. The handwriting was beautiful, and neat, but very hard to read.

While talking to someone, my phone went off. “Is that your phone?” “I think it’s everyone’s phone” I replied, because all of a sudden, the room was full of alarms.

Severe Alert, said my phone

This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.

In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

This is a test. You do not need to take any action.

Needless to say, I took no action. But, being Brits, we all rolled our eyes and tutted at the inconvenience.

So why was I here at the church by myself? Because Liesel and Leslie were travelling south to visit cousin Andi and Steve in Richmond. Andi I think particularly wanted to catch up with her Auntie Leslie.

One morning, Liesel got up early and went for a long solitary walk taking in Richmond Hill, Petersham Common and Richmond Park.

Terrace Gardens, Richmond, overlooking the river

They all visited Bushy Park too one day, where the deer wandered over to say hello.

Let’s return to the saga of my phone. To recap: I took my phone in to have its battery changed. That worked out OK. But, the fingerprint sensor no longer worked. I went back to the shop, he couldn’t get it to work, so ordered a new sensor. A couple of days later, the new sensor didn’t work either. I would have to leave my phone with him overnight so that some internal connection could be soldered. Couldn’t do it over the weekend because it was Eid.

So, as requested, I took my phone in on Monday with a view to collecting it the following day. It wasn’t ready. In fact, it wouldn’t be back until the next day. My doubts were now growing. I insisted I needed my phone that day. Tell me where it is, and I’ll go and collect it if necessary. He didn’t want to do that. He called someone and then told me to return in the afternoon. Good thing I didn’t have a job to go back to. He said if it wasn’t back by about 3pm, he’d deliver it to my address after closing time.

I felt a wave of relief when I picked up my phone in the afternoon. Fixed. The fingerprint sensor was now working. Where’s my case? I asked. What case? The protective case that I always keep my phone in. He couldn’t find it of course. I suspect it’s still at the other, top secret venue. So he gave me case off the shelf.

I didn’t pay for anything. By now, I was so peeved, I resolved never to darken his doors again. Whether incompetent or criminal, I don’t think I can trust him again. So much so, back at home, I checked the phone for malware. I also checked that no cash had been taken from any of the online bank accounts. He wouldn’t know my passwords, and he didn’t have my fingerprint, but, I have no idea how dodgy or technically agile he and his brother-in-law are.

Later, I realised the volume controls were no longer working. I use those to take screenshots and to take photos as well as adjusting the volume. I’ll be taking my device to a proper, qualified Samsung repair facility, where I’ll have to recite this whole sorry tale, probably.

Liesel and Mom returned but they didn’t join me for the the long Thursday walk. After which, at The Forum, I saw my mugshot on the noticeboard outside the radio studio.

At least one member of my family asked if this was a Wanted poster? Is there a reward?

And the excitement is building in the area as we approach Coronation Day.

I’ll probably tweet this nearer the time but when people ask whether I’ll be watching the Coronation on TV, I usually say “No, because, by coincidence, I’m going out to get a new hat that day too.”

The three of us did join the walking group on Friday though, for one final forced march, as Klaus would have said.

And, as it was Great Oma’s final day here in England, she treated us to a meal at a Japanese restaurant over there in Cheadle Hulme. Jenny and Liam brought a very excited but tired Martha and William. The children had been introduced to Japanese cuisine while in Australia over Christmas. Today, we all enjoyed our meals, even though for a long time, Martha and I were sitting in actual warm sunshine. Even Liesel was beginning to turn pink.

Once William got going, he demolished his plate of food, and both he and Martha are very happy with sticky rice, because it’s easier to eat with chopsticks!

This week, they celebrated ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand, and, by coincidence, that was the theme of my Wythenshawe Radio show this week. If you would like to catch up on two hours of Aussies and Kiwis singing for your pleasure, you are very welcome to listen here.

Seven is a magical number

We all have one every year and some of us have had way too many but when you’re turning 7, your birthday is still very special. And so it was with Martha. Liesel, Leslie and I had a wonderful time celebrating with Martha, her immediate family, her cousins, aunt, uncle and the other grandparents. Thirteen people in all, but not at all unlucky.

There was a bit of running about and it was warm enough to go into the garden for a while. One thing I never expected to see was Papa, the other grandfather, standing on his head in the garden. Such poise, such strength, and of course, I didn’t have a go.

Neither did I take part in the head-over-heels competition. Or roly-polys. Or somersaults.

William was especially pleased that Papa John pizza was the main food item for this party. Although the cake was pretty good too.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, Helen was spending her Easter weekend laying new decking outside her apartment.

If you want decking, let us know and we’ll put you in touch. Well done Helen!

On Easter Sunday, we went for a walk along the river and again bemoaned the fact that the Sun was out but the cold wind was winning. For the first time since about November, we saw the heron. In fact, we saw two or three herons. Not sure because numbers 2 and 3 might have been the same one, they do look very similar.

We don’t really like the cold wind and by this time of year, it really should be a bit warmer. But at least it’s not snowing here like it is in Anchorage. Yes, Leslie is missing out on what must surely be the largest ever Winter in the lrgaest state in the union.

At home, our evening meal was enhanced by the presence of a bipedal carrot. Very nice, very tasty.

Another day, another walk, this time to Chorlton Water Park, partially along the river.

The bin seemed happy to see us, as well as the joggers and dog walkers and jog walkers and doggers, not to mention the cyclists on the path. Next time, if we’re up and about that early in the morning, we’ll be taking a picnic breakfast with us.

Week 2 as a member of the choir, and when I was about to leave home, the rain was torrential. Not wanting to sit and sing looking like a drowned rat, I drove to the Social Club. And I’m glad I did, because when I left, it was bitterly cold outside, and I wouldn’t have enjoyed walking home in that! As for the singing itself, I was much more conscious this week of my drone not quite being in tune with the other tenors.

The last time I appeared on a podcast was December 2019, so it was a joy to join Danny Baker and Louise Pepper again this week for the Treehouse Podcast episode 324.

Because of the Zoom call, I was late for the walk on Wednesday but I eventually caught up with the other walkers. Back at Boxx2Boxx, it was nice to see Jill back, I don’t think I’ve seen her since before she went into the jungle for I’m a Celebrity. As usual, she was very generous with her time, and was happy to share her Euros medal with the children.

Jill Scott making some children very happy

Don’t talk to us about the Thursday walk. Liesel and I went along but nobody else did. So we followed the route to the best of our memory, but it’s surprising how most woods look alike and Wythenshawe’s residential roads are all very similar too. I suppose the lesson here is, when someone takes you for a walk in a new area, pay closer attention to where you’re going.

And don’t mention the Friday walk, it was cancelled this week.

But despite getting in a few tens of thousands of steps this week, I did spend some time on the computer, trying to get a bit ahead with the radio shows. This week’s theme was Puns, Parodies and Spoofs, two hours of wonderful music not to be taken too seriously. Be the first on your block to listen to it here.

Another year bites the dust

We stayed at Fountains Abbey for a week altogether and for some of that time, we had the whole place, the whole estate, to ourselves. To the point that when, on Boxing Day, we encountered millions upon millions of other visitors, we felt our land was being invaded. Such an outrage.

Fountains Abbey is bigger than I’d anticipted. Other than the roof being missing, it’s been well looked after.

And here we are, equally well preserved, in front of the abbey. We spent a lot of time walking up and down its corridors and aisles. It was very special not seeing other people, just pigeons, crows and pheasants.

We have no idea where the building materials came from, but the different colour sandstones look much more vivid in real life than in this picture.

It was quiet and peaceful, just the sounds of the birds. And quite atmospheric too with the medieval mist rising from the grass.

We walked along the path by the River Skell enjoying the peace and tranquility. Pheasants were everywhere, many more males than females for some reason. We even saw bits of pheasant here and there, presumably the body parts that the sparrow hawks couldn’t digest. We saw a couple of red kites showing off their soaring and gliding skills in the sunshine.

Odd buildings attracted our attention as we walked to the gate leading to the main car park. We didn’t go through because it wasn’t obvious how to get back. Plus, there were ordinary people on the other side, and we didn’t need to mix with them.

The Serpentine Tunnel was dark and damp and, as the name suggests, sinuous, so you never knew how much further there was to walk. The view from higher up was well worth the effort of the climb. Even if I was a bit puffed out.

Back at Fountains Hall, there’s a very moving war memorial

It’s probably the wrong time of year to see bees, but we found a home for them.

Joe Cornish has been taking photographs of the Abbey and the grounds for a few years now, since before the pandemic, and there was a display of his work inside the Mill. Apart from anything else, this was a reminder that I really should break out my real camera again rather than relying on the faithful phone for all my photographic needs.

We never came across the tree with this gnarly old man striding in its roots. But I’m sure we’ll be back one day, there are several more acres in the grounds to explore.

The bad news is, Liesel wouldn’t let me scratch my name next to this 200-year old graffiti.

Oh no, more bad news. Inside the Hall, we found this Christmas tree with lots of presents underneath, but Liesel wouldn’t let me open any of them.

Christmas day was unusual. We spent the day snacking on crackers, cheese, chocolate, cheese and crackers, fruit, bread, crisps, snacks, so that when it was time for the more conventional, official Christmas meal, we both felt full and well, we couldn’t be bothered. So we had our nut loaf and all the trimmings the following day: maybe we’ve started a new tradition. But really, those snacks just shouldn’t be so tasty, filling and more-ish.

Having spent a week on our own, just the two of us, Darby and Joan, it was nice to venture out and meet people. Not just any old people, but an old school-friend. And not even a school-friend of mine. Yvonne was my sister, Pauline’s buddy from school, all those decades ago. Yvonne and Ian met us in Sawley, for a pub lunch. It was nice to catch up, even though we’d only met in August, with Pauline and Andrew.

Our week in Yorkshire came to an end and we had to check out really early. On the way home, we diverted to Mother Shipton’s Cave but as always, we’d planned well: it was closed. But we did catch a glimpse of Knaresborough Viaduct, even if we didn’t take time to explore. We’ll be back, I’m sure.

It’s always an anti-climax of course going home after a short break. Nothing much to report here. Oh, except my old PC has decided to no longer cooperate. It won’t turn on. Yes, it was plugged in. I even changed the fuse in the plug. I hoovered up 3 cwt of dust from inside the case, wondering if maybe the thing wouldn’t turn on because the fans were stuck. No. I suspect it needs a new power supply unit. Which is annoying, because there are only a few things I need to transfer to my (now not so) new laptop. But the main thing I use the old PC for is to print. We have a very old printer that is not compatible with Windows 11. I spent far too long trying to find a way to get my laptop to connect with the old printer. In the end, I ordered a new printer.

I enjoyed watching the New Year’s fireworks from Sydney, a display probably visible from space.

Of course, we weren’t there in person on this occasion and I couldn’t see Helen and Jenny in the crowd. Mind you, I only have a small TV screen, it was dark there and as it turns out, they were round at a friend’s place anyway.

The radio show this week was entitled Happy New Year! I prepared it before we went away, that was a hectic couple of days! You can catch the show here. If I were to say that my Christmas show was repeated on Wythenshawe Radio WFM 97.2 not once, not twice but four times in the end, is that a humble-brag? Should I take that as a vote of confidence?

I didn’t realise that the link to the radio show doesn’t always appear in the emails alerting you to another exciting episode of these Antics, so apologies for that. And a jolly Happy New Year to you.

Two departures and a birthday

One day, I look forward to walking the length of the Transpennine Trail, but for now, I’ll just be happy to come across the short section that passes through Northenden. No doubt, a highlight for many a long distance walker from Southport to Hull.

But that’s in the future. This week, as usual, we stayed pretty local. Out on a walk one day, Liesel sent a message asking me to pick up some painkillers from the pharmacy. Both the pharmacies in Northenden were closed, so I jumped on a bus that stopped at exactly the right time, thinking that wherever I ended up, I’d find one that was open for business. And yes, of course, I realised I should do more of these mystery tours, it’s a good way to get to know the wider area.

On this occasion, I was taken to Sale where indeed I was able to buy what I needed. I also saw a massive bee.

Two of them lovingly carved from an old tree. And by coincidence, the same bus driver took me back to Northenden.

Liesel and I went over to see the family between gym and swimming. No, not us, it was Martha at the gym and William who went swimming later.

Martha would make a good cowboy and I can’t help feeling most westerns would be improved if they rode unicorns rather than horses.

Jenny and Helen took me out for a couple of hours to go shopping. I haven’t worn a suit for many years, probably decades, but the time has come to find one that fits. We visited a place called Peter Posh where I expected to be served by someone like Mr Grainger from Are You Being Served? with a tape measure draped around his shoulders. But no, a very helpful, and patient, young lady helped out. I tried on two suits and a waistcoat. In my mind, I’d built suits up to being the uncomfortable uniform of office work, of business men making things worse for the rest of us. So I was surprised to find that these ones at least were actually quite comfortable, and nobody laughed as they said I didn’t look too shabby.

The lesser spotted Mick in a suit and proper shoes

So, good luck, Mick, at the next job interview.

Helen’s birthday rolled up as it always does just after Christmas, and how fabulous it was that she was here to celebrate with us this year. She and I went for a nice walk at Dunham Massey. We found some footwear here and there, just part of an activity designed presumably for children.

The rose garden was spoiled by the stench of bonfire.

How disappointing. I know the gardeners are all volunteers and we’re very grateful for all their hard work, but there better ways to dispose of stuff you don’t need, especially green waste. We said hello to the robins as we wandered round. Or was it the same robin following us? I keep forgetting to take a bag of mealworms with which to feed them.

On one path, we passed someone familiar to me. I didn’t pester him. But Count Arthur Strong later confirmed that he had indeed been at the same venue. As he said, he’s like the Scarlet Pimple, here, there and everywhere!

Liesel and I attended Helen’s party in the evening but I think, on the available evidence, Martha and William were more excited than she was. We all enjoyed the party food and I can now reveal Helen’s best present.

Let’s hope these snacks all make it through customs when she goes home. In other words, let’s hope the customs officials aren’t hungry.

Liesel and I drove to Heald Green where, for the second week in a row, she took a PCR test for Covid. A negative result means that she can fly to Alaska. While waiting, I found a couple of frogs. I didn’t realise these amphibians were still adorning the streets of Stockport.

The weekly Wednesday well-being walk in Northenden has resumed, and nine of us had a very pleasant stroll through the woods and around the streets. We stood outside the café with our coffees: sitting inside in a large group didn’t seem a good idea.

In the evening: pizzas again. A second opportunity to wish bon voyage to Liesel. In the morning, I jumped on the boxes to squash them before putting them in the bin.

It was so cold on Thursday morning, we had to scrape ice off the car. I took Liesel to the airport. She’s off to Anchorage to see her parents and her friends and to enjoy all that a deep Alaskan Winter can throw at her. For the rest of the day, I donned my chauffeur’s cap as I was quite happy to help Helen with her various errands.

Helen and I drove to Heald Green where she took a PCR test for Covid. A negative result means that she can fly back to Australia. While waiting, I renewed my acquaintance with a couple of frogs.

Next stop was Lester and Brown jewellers in Poynton where the High Street looks very slippery. The jeweller had taken an old brooch that neither Jenny nor Helen will wear, and made a pair of earrings for each of them, and as far as I can tell, he’s done a very good job.

Next: Next in Handforth Dean where Helen returned a dress and picked up a new one for Martha to try on.

Next: Create-It in Cheadle to pick up some mugs designed by the the children.

Next: Greens in Didsbury for lunch. Just a couple of other parties here in the restaurant and the food was, as usual, delicious.

And finally: Card Factory back in Cheadle where a couple of balloons were inflated: a dinosaur for William and a Unicorn for Martha.

Even though we’ve been living here in Northenden for over three years, I still used Google Maps all day. I don’t yet have a comprehensive mental map of Greater Manchester in my head. I’m sure it will come.

If I’m saying goodbye to one of the ladies in my life, it’s only fitting that we have pizzas. And so it was that we all met up at Pizza Express for a farewell meal. I won’t be having the hot jalapeño dough balls again. Steam blasted from my ears, and my nose didn’t stop running for ages. Incredibly hot and spicy. Helen was due to fly out from Manchester early in the morning so we said our goodbyes here.

I still can’t get over the wonderful surprise of actually seeing her here for Christmas.

To lose one woman in my life, Mr Worthing, maybe regarded as misfortune. To lose two in the space of two days looks like carelessness. I think that’s from The Important of Being Earnest.

Liesel arrived safely in Anchorage and is already taking advantage of the very slightly different weather. Flying with Covid regulations and face masks adds an extra layer of anxiety to the whole travelling thing, but that’s something we’ll have to live with for a while.

Earlier in the week, I’d pre-recorded and sent off the first radio show for Wythenshawe Radio in its own right. Unfortunately, due to events outside my control, on Wednesday evening, the previous week’s show was broadcast instead. Which is a shame, because it was a special one for Helen’s birthday. The correct show was released into the world on Friday afternoon. And I’ve uploaded a copy here if you’d like to catch up. There’s a news bulletin at the halfway point, but I left that out: nobody needs to hear the news more than absolutely necessary.