Sunday, November 25, 2007

A Momentous Moment

This weekend has been rather momentous in world history, with the appointment of the first ever national leader called Kevin. It’s been interesting I suppose watching an election unfold in which you can’t vote. So what’s different to elections around the world? Not much really… millions spent on advertising and dissing the opposition, convoluted voting systems and even more convoluted presentation of the results and promises promises promises. Friday night looking down on Parliament House and all was serene.

Saturday was polling day and I didn’t really see much of what was going on but am told the polling stations are like little industries in themselves – cake stalls, sausage sizzles, book stalls. It’s compulsory to vote here, unless you happen to be from overseas yet still pay considerable taxes. I got my chance to participate in an alternative ballot down at the M16 artspace, which is run by a friend of mine. Plenty of people were drawing pictures and alternative ballot papers and scary union bosses. Democracy in action.

Election coverage is bewildering at the best of times, but the Australian networks report the votes from each polling station as they come in…rather than adding them all up and giving the result at the end. This means the TV networks are calling winners after 1% of the electorate have voted. As it turns out, a day later we still don’t really know if John Howard has lost his seat or not. Canberra had its little place in the sun though, as the networks broadcast from the National Tally Room, a noisy hub of numbers and swings and Chaser generated mayhem.

Come Sunday, new leadership, future thinking blah blah blah. But all was pretty much the same, Canberra was warm, the flies were out, the Canberra Centre was busy with Christmas shoppers and Australian Idol was on TV. That one had a winner too, and I daresay more people voted for that than the election!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

MOrdor

This week I have mostly been busy grooming my moustache, pictures of which can be found by clicking here. I dunno if it's exacerbated by the extra hair, but it has felt pretty hot in the last few days - sunny but muggy days followed by late afternoon storms... we may as well be in Darwin! On Sunday eve, I drove up to Mount Ainslie where the views were Tolkienesque... heavy brooding clouds, lightning crackling over the distant ranges and the sky glowing where the sun seeks to penetrate the darkness.





Sunday, November 11, 2007

Back across the Molonglo

Returning from my day trip to the coast (see below), the clouds had formed over Canberra bringing spots of rain and a glorious sunset over the lake. This was the perfect end to a great day.


Motoring to Moruya


After a pleasant Saturday perusing the National Gallery, having coffee in Kingston and throwing some meat on the BBQ, my itchy get-out-of-Canberra feet were increasingly taking a hold of me, walking me to the car and putting the foot on the accelerator and driving me east to the coast. It was a beautiful day after somewhat cool and damp weather lately, perfect to cross the escarpment and dip my feet in the ocean. After the twists and turns of the descent of Clyde Mountain it was nice to be on the flat, lush farmland of the Moruya region.



I headed to Moruya Heads, which presented the archetypal South Coast scenes of sparsely populated beaches, beautiful blue water and bush. After a little wander round I settled for a read of the papers, a dip in the water, a bit more of a read, another dip and another wander around the rocks. Not a bad spot to relax on a Sunday afternoon and worth the two hour drive.



I couldn’t sit on the beach and read the papers all day (well, actually I could), so headed around the coastline for another wander through part of Eurobodalla National Park to admire more of the views and the ambience of being beside the seaside.


I clearly wasn't going to leave the coast without eating fish and chips, especially after talking about it at length on Friday, and so headed back to Moruya where, frankly, I was disappointed. The fish and chips were distinctly average and I had to share it with the flies and seagulls. Never mind, at least Santa Claus is coming to town.


The fish and chips and sea air left me feeling a little fatigued and not really looking forward to the hike back but in the end I really enjoyed the drive. I cranked up some sing-a-long-oasis which I hadn’t listened to for some time, sang along loudly and cruised the quiet roads. Before the climb up the mountain I veered off onto a dirt road to check out the view.

The sun lowering in the sky, with storm clouds brewing over the interior, cast dramatic light over the golden plains and rolling hills of the tablelands, making the journey back a pleasure and providing one final encore beside the lake in Canberra. Bar the slightly disappointing fish and chips it was an excellent day and it’s good to know the South Coast can be a reasonable day trip. I returned home glowing from the day by the sea… I guess the only other downside of the day will be the white un-tanned moustachioed part of my face come December!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

An average weekend

If all had gone to plan I shouldn’t even be sitting here writing this now. I should be strolling along a beach on the NSW-VIC border, contemplating a meal of fish and chips before returning to my tent. However, despite all the talk of shorts recently the weather took a lousy turn for the worse and I cancelled the trip – I didn’t come all this way to get soaked and cold in a tent beside the seaside! It comes as bit more of a shock to have to change plans based on the weather here, but I still had a decent time based around Canberra and was heartened to hear of the 50mm of rain overnight in Merimbula. Canberra itself had spits and spots of rain, mostly overnight, which meant I was still able to get out and expose my unkempt face to the elements…in fact it turned into a pretty average weekend really – shopping, washing, walking, cooking and taking in a national attraction.

I consoled myself with the cancelled plans by eating the very last of the treasured fudge from Cornwall – my last ties to the summer holiday – before hitting the shops to buy many birthday and Christmas cards. I often go the same place in the food court when in the Canberra Centre and get a small dish of butter chicken with a veggie samosa. To be radical this time I had an onion bhaji instead of a samosa. It was that wild a weekend!

In the late afternoon the weather was generally OK, bright but humid, so the car and I got together again and ventured to Googong Dam, which is about 20 minutes away. It’s fairly extensive and quite pretty in places…almost a bit Lake Districty in parts.

One of the rivers flowing from the dam forms a number of rock pools and cascades, which would’ve been really calm and peaceful bar the odd bogan or two from nearby Queanbeyan diving into the pools. Plus all the flies, which are getting increasingly annoying as the seasons progress.

If I really wanted peace and quiet and seclusion, then it was easy to find, driving a few more kilometres down the road to a deserted car park which was the starting point of a number of trails. I walked amongst the scrubby meadows, gum trees and rather large mobs of kangaroos towards a viewpoint (gotta love the viewpoints!) which is at the head of Googong Dam.

As you can see I also didn’t use a razor over the weekend (more of that in a minute).

The walk was fairly pleasant and I managed to stay dry, returning to Canberra just before the storm clouds rolled in and gave the garden a bit of a soaking. The tomatoes have really benefited from recent rains and have shot up. In fact, all the plants (and weeds) are rapidly growing, flowering, attracting spiders and huge ants…it’s becoming a bit of a jungle out there. There’s even some nice TNS pink flowering bog brushes in the front. One of the plants I bought should look like this someday…but whether I’ll be around to see it come to fruition is another matter. Oh well, my legacy to Narrabundah.

Whilst Saturday was the shopping and outdoorsy part of the typical weekend, Sunday was the cultural and cooking part. I visited, for the first time, Old Parliament House, which was incredibly interesting. Not only does it house the National Portrait Gallery but you can wander round the corridors, cubicles and couches of power, almost as they were the day they were left back in the 80s. It’s all wood panelling, typewriters and endless volumes detailing parliamentary sittings, scattered around a maze of offices and meeting rooms. I’m sure Bob Hawke’s empty glass was left on his desk. I think the (relative) recency of this place truly positioned it as a piece of living history, and all for two dollars.

Whilst wandering Old Parly House I was on the look out for any old pictures or sculptures of moustachioed bureaucrats. I need to get some hints on styling as my facial hair increases…you can see what it’s all about and what’s happening on my sister blogsite! Check out http://canberramos.blogspot.com. Hopefully you will be entertained and encouraged to dig into your pocket for a worthy cause. In the meantime, the Monday morning dilemma awaits…which parts of my face shall I shave? Looking back, maybe I should’ve gone to the Australian Institute of Sport instead of OPH… Boonie, Hughes, Lilley. Inspiration indeed.