slingsbybrowning

Sketches of Merimbula Eight

February 28 to March 7, 2015 After coming down from Bombala, we made our first port of call the excellent Wild Rye bakery in Pambula, for some bread and cakes. Then we drove the few kilometres to Wheelers Restaurant to stock up on prawns and oysters for dinner, before completing the last couple of kilometresContinue reading “Sketches of Merimbula Eight”

Sketches of Merimbula Seven

February 27 to February 28, 2015 The morning of Friday February 27 saw us once again heading off in a packed car toward Merimbula. The load of course included fishing and golfing gear, but not much in the way of cooking utensils other than a balloon whisk. Our first stop was no further away thanContinue reading “Sketches of Merimbula Seven”

A Sketch of Halls Gap

February 13 to 15, 2015 Halls Gap is a very small hamlet, located in the Fyans Valley in the Grampian Mountains, west of Melbourne. It has a resident population of some 600 people, and is a very popular tourist destination. In fact, the town is dependent on tourists for its livelihood, there being veryContinue reading “A Sketch of Halls Gap”

Sketches of Castlemaine; Three

September 14-15, 2014 One of our party had been told of a ‘not to be missed’ attraction with the legendary appellation “Woop Woop”; and as appointments are necessary, arrangements were made to visit that place on Sunday morning. Sunday started as yet another glorious day, weatherwise, and we had a very pleasant drive ofContinue reading “Sketches of Castlemaine; Three”

Sketches of Castlemaine two

September 12-13, 2014 My last blog, Sketches of Castlemaine One, promised further sketches detailing more of the town and its environs. And this is it. Our route here was the same as last time, except that we were very careful not to miss the exit from the Westgate Freeway onto the Bolte Bridge; and soContinue reading “Sketches of Castlemaine two”

Sketches of Castlemaine; One

Sketches of Castlemaine: One On June 7, 2014, we went to the small town of Castlemaine, about 90 minutes’ drive north and slightly west of Melbourne. It was the Queen’s Birthday long weekend; the event was the inaugural Castlemaine Jazz Festival; and our band was playing a couple of sets. We left home early, aboutContinue reading “Sketches of Castlemaine; One”

Sketches of Merimbula, six

May 14 to May 17, 2014 In Sketches of Merimbula 4, we mentioned the rolling hills in the hinterland around this part of the world, and the splashes of vibrant colours in the clumps of deciduous trees. Well, on today’s little jaunt, we came across a similar view which, as luck would have it, wasContinue reading “Sketches of Merimbula, six”

Sketches of Merimbula, Five. May 11 to May 13, 2014

Sunday May 11, 2014 and it is Mother’s Day. Accordingly, Merimbula turned on the perfect ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ morning for the bacon and egg BBQ breakfast provided for the guests by Leanne and Rhys, the managers of Sails Apartments. It was very pleasant to gather around the BBQ area sipping sparkling whiteContinue reading “Sketches of Merimbula, Five. May 11 to May 13, 2014”

Sketches of Merimbula, Four, (May 6 to 10, 2014)

Almost exactly a year has passed since we last visited this part of the world, and we wrote Sketches One, Two and Three. During that time, our granddaughter has spent seven months studying in England and visiting several places in Europe; our niece in Melbourne gave birth to a second daughter; we were visited byContinue reading “Sketches of Merimbula, Four, (May 6 to 10, 2014)”

The Invisible Woman

“Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story”, so the old saying goes. And that is exactly the approach taken by Claire Tomalin who wrote the book, and by Ralph Fiennes who made and acted in the film The Invisible Woman. This purports to tell the story of the relationship betweenContinue reading “The Invisible Woman”