Winery Gates Closed - Yarra Valley

Couldn't get a drink.

Hole in the Rock New Zealand

Memorials Appear – Anon.

In a stone and thistle field north of the city
Next to a broken fence
A shiny brass plaque appears.
Flowers are laid quietly and candles lit gently
Burn softly through the night.
Strangers come and stand in silence numb.
A hi-viz vested local worker when asked red-eyed says,
“I just had to pay my respects, I just had to pay my respects.”

Under cover of darkness in the heart of the city.
Down the bluestone lane of hope
A large graffiti artwork appears.
Young artists working hard focus direct
Across the from the doorway of Youth Projects
Bold rich and strong. It says
 “We just had to pay our respects, we just had to pay our respects,”

Pieced together around noon on Sunday
Thirty thousand souls ghostlike appear
Shuffling Sydney Road southwards.
Engulfing trams each one heavy hearted a living memorial.
Each one hope filled magnified many fold for those not here.
A young father holding child with balloon says monotone
“We just had to pay our respects, we just had to pay our respects,”

Here in final moments an uplifting word would merely be token.
As it’s best that for now neither history nor the truth be spoken.
As I come to reflect all I have to say is,
“I just had to pay my respects, I just had to pay my respects.”

World Cup

The world cup has arrived - well almost. Its interesting to think that not too long ago Australia was quite uninterested in this event. Perhaps it all started with Adrian Alston at Luton Town - one of the first Australians ever to make it into the top level of UK soccer. We would wait til very late on a Monday or Tuesday nights to watch the soccer show from the BBC on ABC. Now we can watch the fans eat and drink

The Beach at Port Fairy In April 2010

Australia's Other Saint

Tony Abbott - what century do you live in? or planet for that matter.

This quote taken from a recent newspaper, "Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, has dismayed welfare services by declining to match the Rudd government's goal to halve homelessness by 2020, saying governments cannot stop people from being homeless "if that's their choice".

How on earth can anyone making these sorts of comments ever claim to be a leader of people.?