A Birthday

 

Bago Maze and Winery 27/01/2023

 

Bago Maze and Winery https://www.bago.com.au/

Australia Day 2024

 

Tuncury

A Long Australia Day Weekend 25/01/2024

Thursday 25th of January 2023

My train trip to Wauchope see my Darling, 262.45km (163 Miles) away...

Maitland Flood level markers and indicator board. Time to enjoy some brunch at Café Loco. The temperature is now 40°C and later hit 42°C!

Feels odd being on this platform!

 

The XPT was meant to be the answer to "fast" train travel in Australia. Sadly it is not! The trip averaged 66km/h (41MPH) far short of the 200km/h (124MPH) requirement to be considered a fast train.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_XPT

I travelled Economy Class.

Pros:

• Cheaper than the alternatives.
• Great Staff!
• Food is OK - The buffet cart has a range of snacks, drinks, alcohol and even do full hot meals for about $10-12. The Sausage roll was dry and had more train miles than me! Other food was fine!
• Seating is similar to economy aircraft seating.
• More space than your average economy airfare!
• Luggage is not policed if you carry it onboard
• Nice scenery!
• Reasonable toilet facilities.
• You are not stuck in your seat unlike bus or air travel.

Cons:

• Slow and long! 4.5 hours from Maitland to Wauchope!
• Susceptible to running late due to the other users of the line. We were 30 minutes late into Wauchope.
• Seating is good but your bum will be complaining after the first hour or so...
• Dated. Build date 1981–1994
• No WiFi
• No charging facilities - bring a power bank!
• Was a particularly hot day going north and the air conditioning was only just coping!
• Did I mention is is slow?

Overall I'd give it a 6 out of 10

Entertainment was proved on the trip north courtesy of one gentleman (term used very loosely) who was getting agitated due to nicotine withdrawals, He was caught out smoking in the toilet and as the train was running late and not getting enough on the platform during the major stops. He spent a lot of time pacing the train muttering to himself and his command of the King's English would have embarrassed a sailor!

Window tint makes it hard to take good photos but you get the idea about the scenery. 

All photos are © copyright to Paul Anslow www.anslow.net, with the exception of Wauchope Station by Abesty - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122359654

A Walk at Patterson

 

A Newspaper Article

 I didn't know this existed, but came up in a search of my fathers friend , Frank Tisdale.

20230910 Travels on Sunday

Vacy, Gresford, Dungog and Stroud round trip

The original plan was to attend the Vacy Country Carnival 

Known for its wiener racing ...but there were cars parked on the side of the road before the 60km/h zone so we gave it a miss.

Stopped to take in the views.
Bingleburra Rd, Bingleburra NSW

See the evidence of a grass fire
Lately there has been a lot of grass fires. This one had started at the top of the ridge, next to the road and went down hill. I suspect it was a cigarette.

Across the road A Panorama 

Outside Dungog Tourist Information Centre

Time for coffee at The Barn Dungog

Bambi enjoying the outing

Buffy watching Dungog town life

Stroud Silo Hill

 The hill was named after the eight underground silos built by convicts in 1841 to store the Australian Agricultural Company's grain from insect attack. The bell shaped silos are 6 metres deep and 5 metres wide, internally lined with hand made bricks. Collectively they were capable of storing 10,000 bushels of grain.

Visit for more history https://www.stroudhistoricalsociety.com

See the embankments made by the silos

The 260 pound cannons, each weighing  approximately 5 tons, were built in England in 1855-6 and were shipped to Australia for the defence of Sydney Harbour during the Crimean War and were situated at Bear Island, La Perouse. They were later sent Fort Scratchley and became part of the defence of Newcastle but by 1909 were obsolete. They were dismantled and transported by boat to Booral, via the Karuah River, and by bullock dray to their present positions.

Amateur Radio - Silos on the Air (SiOTA) See www.silosontheair.com

Another time I plan to activate Silo Hill VK-STD2

The Portable Antenna Kit

Here is the details on the portable antenna kit I use. This Sunday I set up in my back yard, as my regular antenna is current unserviceable.

The operating position was using the terrace furniture for the Icom IC7300 and the Emtron EAT300A ATU

A Squidpole and a 40M dipole as an inverted "V" worked great

Details of the Portable Antenna Kit I have assembled.

VK2WI ARNSW Sunday Morning News. 
Great signals on 40M AM and 30M SSB 
OK on 5.425kHz (VKE580)

Farewell Aunty Wyn

 

Home....

 Home

Some Changes and a New (to me) Car

 As I need to be able to get around independently there needs to be some changes.

I need a car and a drivers licence.

Why don't I already have a licence? 

Part being lazy, part being traumatised by an accident that happened on my Ls in my 20s.

 Back then the Hume Highway was better described as two ⇵ lane goat track in parts and the trucking industry had big safety issues and drivers were using "stimulants" to stay awake.  

 I was on my Ls driving with my girlfriend to Melbourne and just north of Gundagai when around a bend came a truck on my side of the road...... We ended up in a drainage ditch, OK, but the car was not... and I lost my nerve...

 My councillor was unable to help me with the original issue but was able to with driving.

Why a VW Caddy Maxi Crewvan?

I had a criteria for a vehicle;

• Relatively small, but still comfortable for me to drive
• Cheap to buy
• Cheap to Run
• Five seater (Crewvan Version)
• Able to transport stuff if needed... 
• Able to be used as a basic camper when traveling.

The Caddy  is pleasurable to drive, just like a normal car, as from the B Pillar forward it is a VW Polo, with the added advantage of a huge cargo space. The petrol 1.3L Turbo 4 is an excellent performer and is returning 6.3L per 100km in mixed conditions.

Did I say it is fun to drive?

The Beginning

 This is the Beginning of the Paul Anslow Blog

The Big Freeze!

 

The winter of 1962/62 in the UK was known as the Big Freeze where for 10 weeks the Met Office recorded temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees, with blizzards, snowdrifts, with lakes, rivers and even seaports freezing over. The Big Freeze stated on Boxing Day 1962 with heavy snowfalls and deep frosts that continued until the 6th of March 1963 There hasn't been one since, the previous known freeze was in 1740! 

Public Transport and industry struggled and often stopped, along with the supply of food. Farmers lost their stock, unable to access their fields and wildlife froze to death. It took many years for the bird population to recover.

Milkmen suffered exhaustion performing their deliveries under the poor road conditions and the milk would freeze and pop their foil bottle tops!

I turned 5 years old in 1963 and we were living in Whittington. Ice formed on the inside windows and the toilet bowl and cistern would freeze overnight. Dangerously huge icicles formed under the eaves of our home. The nearby canal froze over and I had a homemade sledge (toboggan) which sent me straight through a hedge one time.

Pipes buried 5 feet down in the playground at my school burst! School was closed most days and not all students could get there due to the treacherously icy conditions. At times Dad couldn't get to work by bus and had to walk the 5 miles into Lichfield. The factory then closed unable to deliver and lacked raw materials. The local pubs and co-op store ran low of many items and we were cut off for several days. Our house was completely electric, so we worried when the power would go out. Lucily, it would return after an hour or so.... 

The people back then had memories of the war and were resilient and resourceful. You put on another layer of clothing, another pair of socks and wore wellington boots outside.

Once the thaw started there was water and mud everywhere!

 

The Leyland Brothers

In the mid 1970's Australia TV Viewers watched two poms named Mike and Mal travel around Australia and visit places that many viewers had not seen. The series called "Ask The Leyland Brothers" was very successful running on the Nine Network for 153 episodes between 1976 and 1980. I sure that the viewers dreamed of leaving their dull life in the suburbs behind them and doing what these two families did.

I sure did!

No truckloads of production people following every step in their mega caravans and motorhomes. Production was carried out by Mike and Mal, supported by their wives Pat and Laraine.

By todays standards the production was a bit amateurish and the media used was home movie grade Super-8, but the brothers background in Television and print media in Newcastle NSW, made it compelling viewing. Their pioneering use of Super-8 film made it the new standard used by television of the day!

Later the Leyland Brothers made other TV programming which was equally successful and has paved the way for some of todays TV lifestyle programs.

A later series - Leyland's Australia Episode 1: Brisbane To Rockhampton

I'm sure that the Leylands contributed to todays Grey Nomad movement.

You can read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyland_brothers

You can also watch more on Youtube - Search on "Leyland Brothers" 

Today you will find that Mal is still travelling and his daughter Carmen also has the travel bug! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063733774809

''Where the hell are we, Mike?" "Buggered if I know, Mal. ''
Paul Hogan Show 1973–1984, Season 4, Episode 5

Preparation for Travel - Houdini Proofing

Before we can go away there are some tasks needed to be completed 

One is to fully dog proof the property to allow for the possibly for a house sitter to manage our older two dogs, Mac and Cody who are not good travellers. 

Mac has always been uncomfortable traveling, unhappy with vehicle motion. 

Cody is now partially blind and becoming quite deaf. 

Our last trip Cody was under the opinion that the Motorhome was in its parking spot at home and would become disoriented at night when he found out otherwise.

Buffy and Bambi love to travel!

There is a gap under the downhill side fence to the adjoining property

Some treated pine logs 150mm x 2.4M works well.
Gap be gone!

The missing panel in our front gates and fence was small dog sized.

The concept drawing.

Some progress shots of the reality. The paint is still wet here and the colour is not a match. Should be Colorbond Pale Eucalyptus. A trip to Bunnings in the future will fix that.

A tad noticeable. At least it wasn't this colour! 

This is a real colour!

Then the last bit

A heavy rubber flap added to the gap on the gate.
It was a battle between the green ants, wind and the odd brief shower but we won in the end. 

Now we can get rid of the ugly rusty portable dog fencing!

Now to have a major sort inside

More to come.....