Looking Back at 2014 – November – Tasmania

We return from a short break in our programme due to a computer illness, thankfully now sorted.

So back to what was happening in November last year.

Following on from these posts here and here I’ll continue with our busy month.

With the auction date for our home looming we accepted an offer on the day before the auction was due to take place.  Most people would start packing ready to move…..not us……we headed off to Tassie.

It was a very quick trip to Launceston.

We have been to Tasmania twice before.  The first time was for our honeymoon in 1986.  We visited Launceston, as you do.  Reading the tourist brochures, the place to visit was “Pennyroyal Mill”, so we did.  Well, the mill had been moved there, and other than that it was all recreated and was more of a theme park.  Mick was not happy!  It was not good, and expensive.  I think that experience tarnished our opinion of Launceston as a whole.

When we visited Tassie in 2006 we didn’t even go to Launceston – just another big city was our reasoning.

Well, Launceston was our destination this time, so we were going to give it a second chance.

When booking accommodation the best option that I could see for us was a recently renovated studio apartment at, of all places “Pennyroyal Apartments”. Yes, the same place that had once been a theme park.  We had a chuckle.  The accommodation was great.

On our first afternoon we went for a walk along the waterfront, just to get our bearings.

We saw a cute little ferry that does tours up Cataract Gorge (something to keep in mind for our next visit), we found a nice looking seafood restaurant, so phoned there and then to make a booking for that night, wandered along the very modern marina and stumble upon a little plaque, forgotten in the long grass, commemorating the location of the first landing in Tasmania by a ship.

We then just kept on wandering, finding all sorts of interesting buildings and sites.

We noticed some interesting and colourful grafitti. More urban art than disfigurement.

When booking accommodation I came across references to a historic walking tour that you could take.  After our walks around cities in Europe, I thought this would be a good option to get an overview of the city.  It was fantastic and well worth joining in.

Robyn (our guide), Macquarie House, one of the earliest buildings, there is a bit of a battle to save some of the old industrial, buildings, Boags Brewery is going strong, right in the middle of town.

Some more lovely old buildings.

When we visited the area in 1986 we went to Entally House, so we had to go again.  There was a photo of me on the lawn back then.

We had to replicate the photo, although I look a little different now.

The grounds are lovely.

As is the interior.

In one of the bedrooms there is a lovely quilt created for the Bicentenary of Australia – compete with cat.

Of course food has to be a feature of any trip. The seafood restaurant really was lovely – something we like to do as a treat if we are at a coastal place.  We also like to treat ourselves for breakfast.

While we were in Tassie, we received confirmation that contracts had exchanged on our home, which was a big relief, so when we got home we could start getting ready to move.

Meanwhile, back on our holiday we went for a drive up the Tamar River to Low Head.

There is a main lighthouse as well has to other navigational lights.

We then called in at the pilot station. After the sweltering weather we had been having at home, it was cool and damp.

The setting could have been in England. We had lunch in the little cafe, which was like an English tea room. Seafood chowder was on the menu.  Perfect for the weather and setting.

Finally, I come to the reason for our short little trip to Launceston.  No, it wasn’t just a holiday.  We had been invited to a wedding.

Unfortunately, there was a little rain, but it was dry for the ceremony.  The bride and groom looked so very happy.

We have been friends with the bride’s parents for over thirty years.  It was lovely being a part of this special day.

Then, the next morning it was back on the plane to head home.  We did have an extra passenger in the car from Sydney to Bathurst – Cheryl.  But more on the reason for that next time.

The Ulysses Club AGM Rally will be held in Launceston in 2016, so we will be back then.  Although we packed in heaps into our short visit there is still much that we haven’t explored, so we are looking forward to returning.  Yes, as you can gather, our opinion of Launceston has completely changed.  It is a wonderful place to visit.

Australia Day Outing

It  wouldn’t be Australia Day if we didn’t head out somewhere to an event.

This year the Historic Car Club headed off to Carcoar, which is often our destination.

Mick and I enjoy wandering the street, checking out all the lovely stalls and poking our noses into the little shops.  Carcoar is one of those places that fluctuates from having lots of interesting shops, to not having much at all.  Things are looking good at the moment, with my favourite being a new vintage shop on the corner.

Don’t let the empty street fool you, I was really lucky to catch the shop without a crowd in front of it.  Inside there was gorgeous bunting made from doilies.  I was particularly taken with the chairs upholstered with vintage souvenir tea towels.  Such a pity I have no chairs needing recovering.

We were kept entertained by a fantastic duo.  The girl’s voice really was lovely.  And, of course, the Cobb & Co coach is always in attendance giving rides.

There is always a great collection of old vehicles under the bridge, along the river bank.  This year there was also a little train for the kids.  Clubs from all over the central west come along for the day, which is a great way to catch up with other like minded people. No, we didn’t take Olga, we went by modern car this time.

My Mum’s first car was the same as the one bottom left in the above photo.

The boys were fairly salivating over these rather tasty little Hondas.  They are actually highly modified postie bikes, but you could never tell now.

After we had our fill of the happenings at Carcoar we headed home the long way (as we do), stopping in the little park at Neville for our picnic lunch.  Last time we were at Neville we were on “Olga” and it was freezing cold.  You can read about it here.

After we finished lunch we had a wobble tour around the village, finding a rather lovely squirly, whirly gate and church bird house.  Then it was onto some dirt road – we have to find a dirt road on the way home – through a tunnel of trees and eventually found our way back home.

It was a lovely day out, with the weather not being too hot and no rain, and of course finding little roads not often travelled….oh yes,  a couple of vintage pieces of china found their way home too.

Australia Day Swap Received

I was very restrained with this swap, waiting until today to open my gifts, although this wasn’t necessary.  The parcel has been sitting there, teasing me for quite a while.

My swap partner was Julie, Swap Mamma herself.

First thing this morning there was paper flying everywhere to reveal this lovely collection.

We have:

A = Apple fabric

U = UNO

S = Scarf (made by Julie)

T = Teatowel (Made by Julie)

R = Ribbons

A = Apron (made by Julie and in Autumn colours)

L = Luggage tags (made by Julie)

I = Important travel pack (a mending kit)

A = All God’s Creatures (a lovely book that Julie got while in the USA)

Thanks Julie for the lovely gifts and for arranging the Swap again this year.

(You can see what I sent to Kerrie here.)

Australia Day Swap Sent

Jewells arranged this swap last year and I really enjoyed playing along, so it was a given that I take part again this year.

My swap partner to send to was Kerrie.  I did have fun putting her collection together.

Kerrie has already opened  the parcels, so here they are.

“A” for Apron

“U” for Unicorn post its (I was so happy when I found these, as I never thought I would find anything with a unicorn on it.)

“S” for Stitchery pattern

“T” for Thread Catcher

“R” for Red and white Ribbon

“A” for Aboriginal design fabric

“L” for Lollies (even Aussie made)

“I” for Ink

“A” for Apple Appliqué tea towel.

Now what did I receive?  A lovely squishy parcel from Jewells herself.  I may be a little odd, but I am waiting till Australia Day to open it.  Something to look forward to.  I’ll share then.

Thanks Julie for organising us.  It is great fun.

Looking Back at 2014 – November – National Douglas Rally – Centenary of Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix

There has always been a little rivaly between Bathurst and Goulburn.  Who is the earliest inland city, who had the earliest motorcycle races? Well, on the first front, Bathurst is the first inland settlement, we are celebrating our bicentenary this year, whereas Goulburn is the first inland city, having been granted that status before us.

When it comes to motorcycle racing, Goulburn held a “TT” or Tourist Trophy in 1913.  However, it has recently been discovered that the first race with the title of “Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix” was held at Kirkconnell, just out of Bathurst in 1914.

As you know there is any excuse for a party and this was a pretty good excuse.  The local Rotary Club together with the Historic Car Club decided to host a rally to celebrate.  The original race was won by a Douglas (fine machine – yes, I’m biased, as we own one). The fellows approached the National Douglas Club to see if they would be interested in being involved.  Well, they just happened to be looking for a venue for their National Rally.  How good was that!

There are actually a few old Douglases in Bathurst.

The rally ran for a week, but we were only able to attend two sections.  There was  display of old bikes in the centre of town on the Friday Afternoon.  I’ve never seen so many Douglases together.

The mascot for Douglas is a little Scotsman, so it was appropriate to have a piper, the bike at top right was ridden by a lady, some more modern Douglases and our fine steed.  “Doug” was the roughest bike there and created lots of interest.  Whereas most bikes had signs telling you to look and don’t touch, Mick had kids sitting on ours having their photos taken.  Were’ not too precious about him.

There were lots of other fine old machines on display as well.

On the Saturday there was a run to the original circuit.

We were impressed with the effort people went to to look the part.  The lady in red, was quite elderly.  She did well to get on a bike. I love her helmet.

We took “Olga” the old black sidecar for the run, so I was able to get some great shots of the old bikes trundling along.

Members of the Historic Car Club acted as the corner marshals.

One of our members is a photographer as well as Douglas owner.  He got into the spirit of things with his old camera.

The main venue was the Kirkconnell Church.  I didn’t even know it existed.  It is tucked away down a little side road.  It really is gorgeous and is still used for services.

While the boys were looking at bikes, I went for a stroll through the graveyard, looking at interesting old headstones.

Just to keep it real, from one angle you see a sweet church in the scrub, but when you turn around there are powerlines and the pine forest has recently been harvested. I’m sure they will have it planted again soon.

People really did look the part.

We took a short ride to Sunny Corner where the Progress Association had the most lovely morning tea available, with beautifully presented jars of fresh flowers.  There was an interesting display of old photos.  Coming back along the dirt road gave a bit on an indication of what the original race would have been like.

And the grand finale, was a re-enactment of the start of the race.  Mick and Norm had their own little race start.  The organisers getting everyone ready for the Mayor to wave them off.  The bystanders are a little different to 100 years ago.  Our own paparazzi.

It was a great day.  The small organising committee did a wonderful job and should be proud of their efforts.

Looking Back at 2014 - November

Blogging didn’t really happen in November.  We were too busy being out and about doing things.  You’ll get the picture over the next few posts.

ON THE HOME FRONT

The overriding thing in November was the imminent auction of our home.  Would it sell?  Keeping everything tidy for inspections. The garden was putting on a show, but the three weeks of hot westerlies were drying everything out.

GEOFF MARTIN RALLY

We like to participate in the Geoff Martin Rally, based in Bathurst, each year.  Unfortunately, the numbers were down quite a bit this year, but we still have a very enjoyable day out on “Sophia”, the red Moto Guzzi.

CARD MAKING

We attended a birthday party, so I decided to have a go at making a card.  It is amazing how much mess I can make and time I can take for one small card.  I found a cute birdy on the internet and adapted it into an appliqué. I put it in a window card and then backed it with a bit of pretty paper I had.  I even put a handmade stamp on it (a recent find). This isn’t my usual crafting style at all, but it was good fun.  Having said that, back in the late 80s and early 90s I used to make heaps of cross stitch cards for a craft shop.  I don’t think I’ll be making too many now.

SECRET SANTA CHRISTMAS SWAP

I did manage to get my SSCS ornament and gift made and away on time.  The stitchery on the ornament was one of those things that I had sitting available for any spare minute waiting somewhere.  I knew things would be busy, so got a nice early start on the gift.  Just as well I did.

That’s all for this quick post……..but there is still heaps more for November.