Missing the Spirit of Tasmania coming into Port Melbourne

Forlornly I gaze out to an empty sea

Looking for the ferry that was stolen from me.

I know it was ought

That it needed to change port

But that makes it no less sad for thee.

Logistics

Fire Fighting Nephew, his wife, their two year old daughter, their under one year twin boys, his mother and her mother flew to New Zealand today, well yesterday as you read.

FFN's mother, aka Ex Sis in Law, stayed last night and was due to fly out at 9.30am but the day before Air New Zealand changed the flight time to about 12.30. So instead of being up early to be at the airport at 7.00, it changed to 9.30. R wasn't' going to come to the airport but as the flight was later he did. I was dreading the traffic, but it was ok. 

While we were just going to drop Ex Sis in Law, for better or worse we decided we wanted to see the greats and we are glad we did.

There is no way they could have checked in using the self check in machines. A staff member took it on board and had it all sorted an.....hour later. Passports checked, boarding passes issues for five plus two on the knee. There were 11 items of luggage to check in, from suitcases, a double cot, a pram, two strollers. A couple of items had to be taken to the oversize luggage department. What a nightmare, and that was before they got to Border Force. Goodness knows what fluids were packed in the about ten large carry on luggage and what medicines may need to be checked. My arthritis kicked in and I had sit for a time.

The visit is to attend the wedding of friends in Christchurch, where FFN will be best man.

We were home by about 11 after paying usurious $30 for short term parking, along with about $10 in road tolls. Ex Sis in Law did ask us what Scotch we drink, so we are expecting a large duty free gift when we pick her up upon her return next week. Once home, I felt out of sorts or using a good word, discombobulated. 

We had missed brunch out, so I had some left over mashed potato, pumpkin and carrots. 

I realised I had no wine left and so caught a tram to Prahran to buy some Chateau de vin blanc Cardboard. Coffee out and doing something normal, I felt better and forgot the morning.

I was hungry again and there was some left over nasi goreng in the fridge, so I ate that. I ate no fruit today as Australia's fresh fruit is rubbish. Plums and peaches go from being rock hard to rotten without ever ripening. I am trying some white peaches, but I don't hold high hopes. 

R made an omelet, chips and  vegetables for dinner. A little wine and I feel a whole lot better, ready for a worryless sleep and normal routines will happen tomorrow. 

X Post

I am not bragging but there is one skill in life I had, but like piano playing, I can no longer really remember how to do it. My fingers are instinctive on this keyboard but no longer on piano keys. Piano playing is not like riding a bicycle. 

My skill was sex. I was rather good at it. I don't think I ever didn't enjoy sex and I hungered for it. Sometimes I wanted sex again with the same person but generally it was the thrill of new. Repeats, only if I had connected with them. With much relief, the hunger started to ease off in my early fifties to almost non existent now. Almost. I was so full of myself that I would think, I would like to have sex with me. Now it is who would want sex with me. Not me. Not anyone. I am nothing if not a realist. 

I still find it such an interesting thing that humans do and how it can drive people. 

This post was inspired by an article in a newspaper I just skimmed through headlined, When Should Parents Talk to their Children About Internet Pornography. An age wasn't specified but I would guess as soon as they begin to use the internet. It was phrased like to children 'If you see naked adults doing things with each other that you don't understand or makes you feel uncomfortable, tell your parents or a responsible adult'.

At the age of twelve, maybe younger, that would have been a red rag to a bull for me. What is this uncomfortable stuff? What are naked adults doing?  I want to know. I want to see. I have been warned about this, so it must be interesting. 

Being a child rearing expert without having had children, here is what I would tell my children at an age I can't judge.

My dearest child, you do know that what you have seen is a movie made for adults? It is scripted, there is a director, a producer and camera operators. The performers are professional paid actors in the movie and their acting can be very convincing, just like with most movies. Dearest child, you know that movies are not real life and pornography is no different. Interesting and enjoyable perhaps to view, but it is not real life and not how things actually work in real life. It's just like movies/films, tv, music clips, influencers and video gaming.

I really think the worst thing about the very young is seeing well produced pornography is that it is real life, and we of a certain age know sex is a very much more complicated beast.

Resort to weather

Nothing to post so I will resort to sunrise photos.

Trentalia

Dear Trentalia.

I am sure your media monitors will pick this up. That is their reason for being. I was halfway through making a complaint before being stymied by the need for a ticket number and your site switching back to Italian. You are a government owned train operator and service a local long distance market and international services in conjunction with other government operators and private operators.

I watch a number of train travel YouTubers who focus on European rail travel and from what I have picked up, your trains and service are among the best in Europe. Your Frecciarossa trains are stunningly stylish, inside and out. Photo from Railway Technology.

I can scarcely believe that on your premium service from Paris to Milan in the very expensive Executive Class, you have covered over the windows with all over advertising. I live in Melbourne, Australia with the largest tram system in the world and I know first hand how awful all over advertising is, as so many of our trams are covered in AOA. It spoils the view through the widows in the daytime and makes it hard to see where you are. It is worse at night time and if it dark and wet, you may as well be in a windowless moving box. 

It is just unbelievable that the Italian population and people of influence have not strongly protested at your window cover ups. 

Beautiful, classy and comfortable trains travelling at 300 km/h, offering such a good service as part of high speed train services across Europe and killing air travel, yet you choose to spoil the passenger experience. 

To say I am disappointed is to understate what I feel. For any future European train travel, I will carefully check about all over advertising on trains I may book.

Andrew.

PS To readers, you may find the clip I am talking about interesting if that is your kind of thing.

Musical Monday

The is amazing orchestral work by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. It is best heard with decent ear pieces. Don't forget that there are great camera people, sound recordists and video editors behind such a clip.  

Sunday Selections

I'm joining with River and others for Sunday Selections with my usual random photos.

This photo from the most excellent Ian Visits blog. I had a good laugh and when I told R about it he laughed too. I know London's Bayswater Road reasonably well although I don't remember seeing the Russian embassy and that is where the embassy is located. I believe there is a layer of dried spit outside the embassy at the moment. The City of Westminster has decided to rename the part of Bayswater Road past the embassy as Kyiv Road. I've no reason to disbelieve the story.

Sadly its actual street address is a side street but if you want to complain about warmonger Putin, I am sure if you address your mail to Kyiv Road, Royal Mail will get it to the right address.

There are all kinds of shops, retailers and cafes in Melbourne's General Post Office building except for a post office.

A new and better plaque has gone up on the tree across the road when Joshua Hardy was murdered. His killer was sentenced to 20 years gaol. Joshua drunk? Yes. Blameless? Yes. It was a brutal six second attack, and that is all it takes to kill someone and become a raped sex toy in a Melbourne, Victorian gaol.

It's funny how even such a large ship is never described in what I think would be good selling point as unsinkable. I wonder why not? It was too cold and windy to walk along the foreshore promenade to get a better photo of the large ship Queen Elizabeth. Long live the King.

I think this might be an 'Only in Australia' photo.

The tradie painted over only the rusty part of the flashing. He was quite nice looking, as I observed from my bedroom window with my hand holding my....phone.

Not exactly lithe, but can I be so choosy? Yep, nowadays what I want, or go without.

My afternoon quiet location for an hour or so each day. The gekkos are made of tin and I used worry when I first hung them that they would fall and slice my neck wide open.

Looking down at Little Bourke Street from the fourth floor of the Myer building. I've never noticed these eels at ground level. Who knows why they are there.

While the black asphalt colours aren't true, I like Aboriginal styled art. 

Three fires with visible smoke from our place in 10 days. This one was close and quickly brought under control. It was somewhere in behind the Alfred Hospital.

Decoration at Clocks bar and cafe at Flinders Street Station. Rather appropriate for a railway station. There is more than one old suitcase.

No phone camera can cut it for this kind of photo. The television towers are a one hour plus drive away, atop Mount Dandenong. Fifty two kilometres by road and forty kilometres (25 miles) as the crow flies. Not bad at all.

Boston ivy? Virginia creeper? Mock grape? I think they are all the same. Unlike normal ivy, I don't think this creeper damages buildings. It is just as well.