Road trip to Sydney

For those not interested in a short road trip look away now. For us it was a time for celebration - hubby's birthday and our chance to be with two of our three beloved sons. We travelled out towards Ipswich in what can only be described as fog reminiscent of a Delhi January. It was thick and soupy and the outlines of the bare trees could just be made out. By the time we arrived in Warwick the clouds and fog had burnt off and we were back in the good old Queensland Sunshine. Warwick is full of large churches. A flourishing regional town. From there to Inglewood and Yelarbon. The eucalypts on the side of the road showing signs of the seasons with some form of mistletoe hanging off their branches, going from green to bright orange and red. Yelarbon, small but somehow grand with its silo art and lovely lagoon. 

Goondiwindi - on the borders of QLD and NSW. This was my favourite bit of Australiana. We all say it but seeing it up there in the fields was magical - ONCE UPON A TIME....

The lovely Victoria hotel in the centre of the town. 

Off we sped to Moree and beyond where I noticed small balls of cotton by the road side - and then this. 

Fields of white cotton - contrasted with fields of wheat and legumes as big as our hungry eyes could stretch. Such a rich fertile part of Queensland - onto our final destination for the night, the centre of the mouse plague - none visible in town, but apparently plaguing the country side- Narrabri. 

Along the way the most stunning sunset on one side of the road and on the other a full moon rising behind some hills ready for a lunar eclipse.  Unforgettable. 

Narrabri's information centre complete with a cotton harvester and cotton dress. As we crossed the bridge to leave the town we saw a football field full of excited corella football hooligans invading the pitch. We passed fields of beautiful Hereford cows, Black Angus and sheep in paddocks. 

And from there to Mudgee, a wine region with vineyards in every fork of the road, via a number of smaller towns - some with a handful of populations but all proudly Aussie. We came across a field of galahs swirling round in beautiful formations and some autumn colours. 

To Pearsons Lookout looking over the majestic Capertree Valley, the second largest enclosed canyon in the world where a chilly wind was blowing, before we started our descent into Sydney.

A week of all things Greek

Days in the preparation but a short week or so on display the Greek Cultural Community organised a series of events to commemorate the 200 years of the Greek Revolution of 1821 which led to freedom from the Ottoman Empire and to the state of Greece emerging as we know it today. 

Mando Mavrogenous 

Our focus was on Revolutionary Women - not much was known of them or their activities and so it was refreshing to firstly have Dean Kalimniou, lawyer and writer from Melbourne, apologise for being a man talking about them, but he was excellent in his portrayal of them. The most well known in the history books were women like Mando Mavrogenous, Bouboulina and Margio Zafaropoulou. What did these women have in common? Well this is what made me laugh because a mother of Greek sons will always wish a good Greek girl for her son from a well respected wealthy family. All these women were that, but they used their wealth and connections to further the cause of the Revolution and in Margio's case to pass sensitive information to the Greek fighters. Sadly most of them died in poverty and were even denied pensions by those in power in the day. The rest, and there were so many, were horribly treated, often abused and sold into slavery. We should never lose sight of that and how far women have moved forward in our own lifetimes, yet still not far enough. 

We took even more delight in researching some of the Revolutionary Greek women of our times. We came up with a fair few and heard Helen Gregory a historian here in Brisbane recounting what immense challenges some of these women faced in their lives, whether it was immigration, poverty, war and more recently the challenges of women in science, arts and politics. Listening to Dr Sia Athanasas and Dr Antiopi Varelas, both medical researchers, here in Brisbane telling us the challenges they encountered as well as the thrills was heartwarming and empowering. 

Finishing with Dr. Roslynne Bell, from the University of Melbourne talking about Women Warriors in the form of the Amazons was a fitting end to a big week. I did not know very much about the Amazons who were a race of mythical warlike women, noted for their abilities to ride and fight. They came from a city called Themiskyra near the black Sea and we know about them from depictions on pottery from ancient times.

They fought well known greek heroes, killed many in the process and ultimately were defeated. They fought not for their own glory but for the collective glory of the Amazons and this is what sets them apart. Favourite slide was the one of Amazon dolls found, one sporting moving arms - look at these wonderful playmates for the children of the ancient Greek world. A far cry from the disappointing images of Barbie and Ken which we were treated to growing up. 

So this has been a week serving up all things Greek which has been rewarding, enlightening and fun. 

Autumnal splendour

This is what I came across going to the supermarket - no exceptional route and no exceptional plants but all so stunning.                                               

 The Rosellas in Omar's front yard - the bees are loving the flowers.

Perhaps best of all was the bird call that I heard. It made me stop and look upwards to see where it was coming from and there on the top of the trees was a Black Cockatoo. Sadly the photo is not great but it sang to me and I took a short video ( Which for some reason Blogspot refuses to upload ) as I was so excited to see one here. They are not often sighted in the city - in fact hardly ever. Remembering my sister and father today. Both loved nature and took great comfort from it. 

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea at the Greek Club

I spent this morning at Australia's Biggest Morning Tea in support of the Cancer Council - we have all probably met a person with cancer and know how the Big C has been moved in some of its forms to battles that can be won, while in its other more destructive forms there is still so much work to be done. The Cancer Council raises funds for Research and one of its representatives there today told us that they expect to collect some $14 million in a year but sadly down to $2 million last year because of the pandemic.She urged us all to make sure we kept screening and checks on our bodies regularly especially in the Queensland sun. 

So it was a joyous occasion to see a hall full of chatting women and a couple of men who gave willingly to the cause. This morning tea is ably and tirelessly organised by the indefatigable Desley Lagos and her Group of Auxiliary women of the Greek Community of St George. I was happy to have been asked along and to have helped. The challenge was a greek cake or sweet best representing 200 years of Greek Freedom after the Revolution and uprising of the Greeks in 1821. The women all rose to the challenge and produced the most delicious and delectable desserts. The rose petalled cheesecake was the winning entry which was judged by the judges and was also the Peoples Choice - there were so many delicious cakes there, not least traditional kourabiedes, halva, orange semolina cake which was just scrumptious, rizogalo, amygdalota in the form of the 200 years and kataifi. 

The children from the Greek Ethnic School dressed in their traditional costumes came to say hello. They danced along with their teachers and sang us a song about sunshine. 

This was my favourite entry - the little almond cakes reminded me of my sister who I miss, as she loved them and would make them with various recipes. We were always the lucky tasters. Of course almonds are such a traditional product of the Greek world. Someone couldnt wait and took a bite of one ! 

Congratulations to Desley Lagos and her crew - such a good job raising money for the Cancer Council of Queensland and if you missed the morning and want to donate funds here is the link https://cancerqld.org.au/

Evening Light.

What do you do when your shopping expedition ends in failure - breathe deeply and head out on a walk. Retail therapy is nought compared to Nature therapy.  This time my timing was just perfect to catch the evening light. I walked along Kedron Brook and my word wasn't it just the most serene, crystal clear time of day. Here are some of the highlights:

It is Official

I am an animal whisperer. For those reading the blog you will know I have missed seeing Dennis and Doreen. Many days had gone by without them appearing. Dennis popped by and I asked him where Doreen was - well he listened to me and brought her to me yesterday - isn't that just wonderful. 

A spectacular end to a perfect day. 

Autumn Skies

I confess to being in love with Queensland's unending and uninterrupted autumn skies. Nowhere in the world have I come across such an intense blue which just takes my breath away every time I venture out or sit on my deck. 

Venturing out is key and today's walk was to the fresh food markets in Kelvin Grove. A walk through the back streets revealed beauties like this ubiquitous commelina cyanea also known as scurvy weed. Early Europeans thought eating this would alleviate or avoid scurvy and you can see why. 

Here is some of that sky framed by that flowering Golden Penda Xanthostemon Crysanthus.

A magnificent flowering palm

A Hoop Pine. 

For those of you who have not seen "My Octopus Teacher" which was awarded Best Documentary at the recent Oscars do make time to view this. It's a stunningly filmed documentary narrated by author Craig Forster about an unusual relationship he developed with an octopus he found in a Kelp Forest in False Bay near Simons Town in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. 

You can watch a trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s0LTDhqe5A.

The relationship between Craig and the Octopus is pretty intense and I was surprised to say the least until I realised that I was missing Dennis and Doreen, who from the 22nd of April stopped visiting. I soon caught myself going down to the deck at times I thought they would come in for a feed and missing not seeing them. Finally after many days of absence Dennis turned up but without Doreen. I was overjoyed to see him and asked him where Doreen was and why she hadn't come. Then I knew that what Craig felt about that Octopus was totally and absolutely possible. Here he is in all his glory.