Threskiornis aethiopicus

The Sacred Ibis is one of my favourite birds. Here is a tree full of them in a park in Townsville. These birds are a couple of feet tall. They stalk around Sydney, too, looking disreputable & disheveled, ignoring people & raiding rubbish bins. They have a wonderful long strong beak. They perch on the rim of the bin, and they grab rubbish & fling it all about in search of goodies.

One day I was walking through Hyde Park. An odd rustle/crackling sound caught my attention, and, looking around for the source, I saw a Sacred Ibis who had somehow got hold of an unopened packet of Twisties. He'd been going at the packet, shaking & rattling it, but the delicious extruded snack stubbornly refused to appear. Without thinking, I approached the bird, holding out my hand and saying "Oh, give me that". The Ibis dropped the packet and backed away a few steps, eyeing me intently. I opened the bag, put it back on the ground, and stepped away. Without a word of thanks, he dived in to grab the crunchy, golden treats and gobble them up.

the swimming pools of Townsville

You can tell that the public swimming pools of Townsville were build for the citizenry by the RSL who don't just run drinking clubs and denounce war protesters on Anzac Day.

This is the facade of the Tobruk Memorial Baths.

Here is Long Tan Memorial Pool.





Inside the UV rating was off the scale.




This pool commemorates the Kokoda campaign.



It is a lovely place to swim.



I may have mentioned that swimming always makes me happy.

Bob's your uncle

Whenever anyone says to me "...and Bob's your uncle", I reply "Yes he is." You see, dear readers, I have an uncle Bob. He is a sheep farmer. And my reply is one of the many endearing things about me that drive my friends up the wall. Even comparative strangers have been sent into fits by my inane reply.

Last week I was visiting the farm, and my Uncle Bob casually said to me "... and Bob's your uncle." I was rendered speechless. I hereby swear on the Nets that I will never say "Yes he is" again.

Pennys Lane / feel the love

So you've turned left out of my building and passed the corner, remembering to give the firies a cheery wave. You've walked under the Poo On Sticks (supressing your invountary shiver as you recall Colonel Colonel's dire warning). Now you cross over Kings Cross Road and duck into the mouth of Pennys Lane.

Despite the charming name, Pennys Lane is a dank, dark, short, ugly alley, where the back doors of apartment buildings and a supermarket disgorge their filth. It was here that my yoga teacher, Fonda Asana, saw a very large, very thick donger out on display one morning. You get the idea. it's horrid.

Nevertheless, Jane and Lulu felt the love right there. Maybe we all should feel the love, too. Wherever we can find it.

lightning strike

If you go out of my building and turn left, you will quickly come to the Kings Cross Fire Station. There are two major advantages in living so close to this place. Firstly, the Kings Cross firies are universally considered to be the best looking of all New South Welsh firemen. And secondly, when your building is struck by lightning and your fire alarms go off, in a slamming of firedoors and a groaning of displaced occupants, the firemen are at your door in moments.

There was a brief electrical storm over Darlinghurst yesterday. (One of the great things about living in Sydney is being in electrical storms. brrrrr! All the hairs on my body rise & I get, well, quite excited.)

Here is yesterday's sky at 3pm:





The firies "entered and secured" the building after the lightning strike. It was a false alarm, but thanks anyway, boys. And thanks for driving your engine all the way to our door.

Here is a view looking back towards the station. Keen-eyed viewers will spot Poo On Sticks.


This photo was taken from the mouth of Pennys Lane. Of which, more in my next post.

Oh, what's that? Sorry, Pil, Phoebe, Sara Sue and C.Rag - I can't hear with you all shouting at once. You want a ... ? Oh, you want a photo of a fireman. Alright, here you go:

wall

This is a cross section of one of the lengths of the Berlin Wall that still stands. I was surprised that the Wall wasn't taller and thicker. It takes so little to make division.

Sproing-g-g-g !

The first day of Spring, ladies & gentlemen.

Anaglyph's comment on my last post prompts me to quote from the front page of today's Sydney Morning Herald.

Headline: Sorry for the trouble I cause, says Bush [At least "sorry" is in his vocabulary. The Desiccated Coconut can't even spell it.]

It goes on to say that George W Bush was apparently unaware of causing any bother by his decision to arrive in Sydney two days early for APEC. He is quoted as saying: "I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about ... If I inconvenience people, you know, that's not my intent. To the extent that I inconvenience them, I apologise."

His entourage numbers about 650 people and includes dozens of vehicles.