Borderline

This is a map of the State of Victoria in Australia. Down the bottom you can see a large bay with a narrow entrance. That is Port Phillip Bay. To your left lives Sister. To your direct right lives Mother and ABI Brother, and down along your right hand edge of the bay lives the rest of the family. Melbourne where we live is at the apex of the bay. To the top of the map is the state of New South Wales and to the left a small part of South Australia can be seen.

Victoria has a nice straight border with South Australia and our southern border is of course dictated by the coast. But let us focus on Victoria's northern border. In the voice of Sir Les Patterson, are you with me? 

The Murray River dictates most of the border. Victoria lost out big time against New South Wales as the dividing line is the top of the southern bank of the river, meaning the Murray River is in New South Wales. Technically, or perhaps even for real, if a Victorian wants to fish in the Murray, he or she needs a New South Wales fishing licence. Along with stealing our water upstream, it is just another reason for Victorians to hate New South Wales people. The Murray rises in the east, the right of the map, and flows into South Australia where it empties into a large estuary. 

But what about the straight bit of the border to right, to the east? The line goes through heavily timbered and mountainous country. It was laboriously surveyed in the 1800s, yet with primitive instruments, surveyed quite accurately.  It has been checked with modern GPS technology and the early surveyors were pretty well spot on. There is a walking trail along the border. Better that you walk than me. You can see some early cairn markers of stones left by the surveyors. The border was accepted in the 1800s. 

Accepted the border was, but official? No, not until 2006 did it receive official recognition with a ceremony just south of the small border town of Delegate. Then Governor of New South Wales Dame Marie Bashir and then Victorian Governor Mr John Landy officiated at the ceremony. Did Landy nick Bashir's fishing license from her back pocket as they shook hands, so that he could fish in the Murray River?

Photo from news.com.au

Funny Friday

Watching a grandmother read to her grandchild should be like watching paint dry, but in this case, it is not. I think I would like to share a Scotch whisky with her.

Farewell Hendo

Actually, I am not so keen on all these matey matey name abbreviation on tv between news presenters and sports and weather presenters. ABC Victoria's newsreader Ian Henderson is soon to retire after reading the news since 1992.

He has worked for the ABC since 1980 and particularly remember him as being a very good state political reporter. He covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela. He is a consummate news reader, with a relaxed style and does exactly what he is supposed to do, read the news, without fuss. He will be missed on our screens and in my shallow gay way, I hope the next newsreader, if a male, is just as handsome. If it is a woman, I just hope she is a good news reader. That's turning the normal upside down.

Busy Weekend

It was a busy weekend here with the football grand final being played.

Our Dyke Friend from Launceston visited us on Friday as there is always a grand final party she has to attend along with her annual heart transplant health check at a major hospital. In the days after her heart transplant medical bills began to arrive. She protested to a visiting social worker, who switched her over to being a public patient and she has barely paid a thing since.  She stayed with us for two nights and was great to see her and spend some time with her.

BAD has returned from her cruise, and when our Dyke Friend's ex suggested a Thai restaurant for a catch up meal that was a couple of minutes walk from BAD's digs, BAD said, come here first for a drink and nibbles, so we did. Our Dyke Friend's ex had her fit and glam 83 old year old mother with her and had to be shown around BAD's posh abode public areas. I had forgotten how nice it really is.  This was Friday, a public holiday on the eve of football grand final. The food at the restaurant was great and quite cheap, but it was so busy and so noisy. We waited for a long time for our food. I will go back there, but not on a busy night. BAD hated it and as soon as she finished her meal, I walked her back home.

I had to get up at 5am to get ready for work, so I only had a couple of glasses of wine. R only had one, which is just as well as just before we dropped our Hair Dresser Friend at home, he was breathalysed by the police. I was in bed by 10.45, but I did feel a bit weary at work the next day after rising at 5am.

R went to South Melbourne to do our normal Saturday shopping and our Dyke Friend walked a few kilometres to Aldi in Inkerman Street St Kilda for some things she can't get in Launceston as there is no Aldi there. She caught a tram home and went off to her grand final party. I arrived home from work at 4 and caught bits of the football final on tv. Dyke Friend arrived back at about 6 and we had takeaway pizza and by 9.30 we all headed for bed.

Sunday morning R and I took the car out for a wash, some brunch at Station Pier and a visit to a chemist for a medication for Mother, while our Dyke Friend walked around Albert Park Lake, about 5.3 kilometres. She is so fit. By the time we returned, she was nearly ready and dressed for us to drop her off in Albert Park for a Japanese meal with ex Melbourne workmates. From there a married friend would pick her up and she would stay with her for the night before her hospital appointment on the Monday and late afternoon she would fly home.

Ok, I would be exaggerating to say that we continued on to the hospital where Mother is staying with the car overflowing with her medications and clean knickers that I had washed but that is what we did. The general wards are closed at weekends, so Mother had been moved to the Rehab area. Her face is so bandaged, she looks like Elephant Man. As is par for the course, contact with Mother left R ranting about her. My reply, yes dear, but what can we do? She is my mother and it is only you who has huge problems with her. Her own children just ignore her nonsense.

The Falcons at 367

The falcons are back atop a city building after last years disastrous breeding. While they were good parents, unfortunately it is suspected that they fed their chicks some pigeon meat from birds that had been poisoned. Sadly the three chicks died.

Fingers crossed that it won't happen again. The policy is not to interfere with nature any more than allowing them to next where they want, and the camera of course.

Just this morning the first chick broke out of its shell. People must be excited with many tuned into the webcam, so there is some buffering at times.

http://www.367collinsfalcons.com.au/

Ian Potter Gallery videos

You will need your volume on for this first one. I didn't think of it at the time but filming people watching it might have been fun.

While the gallery is heated, this poor bugger is shivering after standing there for a long time without clothes.

It is not what you can see in the video, it is what you can hear. Turn up your volume and listen to the plaintiff "Help me. Please help me", being broadcast in a young girls voice. It was quite disturbing and played every few seconds. 

Monday Mural

Linking up with Sami and others (Sami, I was going to make the proper link but it seems the list is closed according to what is written at the bottom of your last post).

This is nothing special and the artist, PWF-ATC, also seems to be a graffitist and tagger, which is unfortunate. Nevertheless, there are some cute elements within the work. I have a pretty good mural for the next time I post one. I expect the home owners paid for this work on the side of their house.

Toadstool and a snail.

A grasshopper or similar.

And my favourite insect, ladybirds, hopefully eating thrip/aphids that are about to attack your roses. Did you know you can buy ladybirds online and they will be sent to you in containers to spread around your roses? In our years at The Highrise, we have had three balcony visits by ladybirds. Nothing for them here, so they don't hang around too long, but so nice to see them.

A visit to the Ian Potter Gallery

The Ian Potter Gallery is part of the National Gallery of Victoria, which always seem an odd name to me. Victoria is a state, not a nation. With nothing too much to do last Sunday, for a change and not wanting to do anything too challenging, we just took a wander about the aforementioned gallery. I do not know who Ian Potter was, but I certainly know who Joseph Brown was, and it was his collection we focused upon. They are more traditional works and we really loved many of the works on display. Most of the photos were not taken within the gallery.

It was a windy day and this had probably blown down from one of The Highrise balconies. For mine, it should have landed in a rubbish bin.

We had brunch but at a cafe, not from this small Airstream caravan.

Que? Wait till you see the video.

I can only say que again.

Sometimes in an Australian restaurant or cafe, service can be a bit slow.

I ain't saying a thing about this one.

From a room with a view.

What was at Federation Square before Fed Square was built? The Gas and Fuel Buildings. Not one person protested about their destruction. Are we surprised?

For you ladies of a certain age, I thought you may like some retro frocks. They were quite impressive but you do have go in at the waist, not out.

This one is perhaps a little more forgiving of a fuller figure. The camera did not capture the sparkle.

This exetenial work perfectly illustrates today's society with its dramatic dark threat to the musical arts. What??? I just made that up.

The Spring (horse) Racing Carnival is beginning as soon as the football final is played. Already promotions are underway, with much television advertising and some truly horrible gambling company ads. These folk were practising their riding skills on animated mechanical horses. They seemed to having fun. No, we did not have a try.

The new screen in Fed Square is been unveiled. It is very clear but I thought it would be larger. Yes, more horse racing. I think I will save the three videos I took for another post.