Category Archives: Australia

Shipping Notes

Posted on 2 September 2023 by sheg4184

There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.”  — Joseph Conrad, Polish-British Writer Growing up in a land of droughts and water restrictions, I love the water, despite the fact that I am neither a … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Shipping Notes

The Many Faces of the Adelaide Parklands

Posted on 21 August 2023 by sheg4184

“Though I have lived in London for longish periods at various times in my life, I have never been a Londoner, so that its associations to me are more literary and historic than personal. Every time I visit it, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Lifestyle, Local Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Many Faces of the Adelaide Parklands

Silo Art

Posted on 5 August 2023 by sheg4184

Many years ago, we drove across the central plains of Canada, following the railway in an almost straight line from the rim of Shoal Lake to the Rocky Mountains. For almost two thousand kilometres, through Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, much … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Local Culture, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Silo Art

Winter Frost & Saperavi

Posted on 27 July 2023 by sheg4184

‘For we are the new nomads, the twentieth century, who wander the earth with trailing roots, our possessions portable, our dwellings temporary.’ ~ Charmian Clift And lo! We are finally on the road again, aboard our trusty VW Camper, Barney. … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Food & Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Winter Frost & Saperavi

Arthur Boyd: The Life of St. Francis

Posted on 4 July 2023 by sheg4184

Last weekend, we spent a damp but utterly undreary weekend wandering through North Adelaide, dodging the odd shower, exploring blue plaques on the front gates of 19th century and early 20th century homes, dipping into quirky coffee shops, strolling along … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Local Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Arthur Boyd: The Life of St. Francis

Comfort Food

Posted on 26 June 2023 by sheg4184

“Eating is the only thing that consoles me.” ~ Oscar Wilde, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest.’ Here in South Australia, winter has brought with it a deluge of rain and some unexpectedly chilly weather. As we shiver and quake through … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Food & Wine | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Comfort Food

A Final Glimpse of Tasmania, Past, Present and Bucolic

Posted on 3 March 2023 by sheg4184

‘Scrimshaw.’ My favourite new word for the week. What is scrimshaw? A character from Harry Potter perhaps? No, not quite. That was Rufus Scrimgeour, I believe. Scrimshaw is, in fact, the art of engraving images on objects made from whale … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Food & Wine, History, Local Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Final Glimpse of Tasmania, Past, Present and Bucolic

The Joy of Cheese

Posted on 18 February 2023 by sheg4184

“Dessert without cheese is like a beauty with only one eye” ~ Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin When we first visited Tasmania, back in the late eighties, it was known as a destination for serious hikers, those keen to explore the wilderness … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Food & Wine | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Joy of Cheese

‘A Pack of Thieves’

Posted on 13 February 2023 by sheg4184

Port Arthur. Today, it is an hour and a half’s drive from the pretty, waterside city of Hobart. Two hundred years ago, it was a day’s sailing from the decidedly seedy and often violent waterfront of Hobart Town, which had … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, History | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on ‘A Pack of Thieves’

Wildlife Among the Gumtrees

Posted on 3 February 2023 by sheg4184

‘Give me a home among the gumtrees, with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a kangaroo, a  clothesline out the back, verandah out the front, and an old rocking chair’  – John Williamson Craggy Peaks. An old golf … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Wildlife Among the Gumtrees