The World Is Restrictively Small

View Over the Hill

Locust plague reaches Melbourne

Thomas Hunter (theage.com.au) 

Locust reports in Greater Melbourne.

Clusters of locusts reported in Melbourne early today have been confirmed as the Australian plague locust, the same species which has threatened crops through the state’s north, according to the Department of Primary Industries

Full details click below 

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/locust-plague-reaches-melbourne-20101112-17pw1.html

Moggs Creek Victoria

Keeping the ships safe Fairhaven Victoria 

Glorious Melbourne 

Flash flooding as rain lashes Victoria

Heavy rain is causing flash flooding in Victoria, which is set to record its wettest October since 1975.

The State Emergency Service has fielded more than 300 calls for help as a result of the downpour and there are weather warnings in place for most districts.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/30/3052792.htm

Harbouring Beaumaris doubts

ENVIRONMENTALISTS have condemned a $21 million plan to build a 198-berth marina at Beaumaris Yacht Club. Under the plan for a “safe harbour”, the jetty would be replaced with a 480m rock breakwater and 120 floating marina berths, a three-level, 78-berth dry-stacking structure and multi-lane boat ramp installed. There would also be a waterfront boardwalk, new clubhouse with function rooms and increased parking. Jenny Warfe, from the Blue Wedges Coalition, said the proposal threatened the area’s great natural value, especially nearby fossil beds and cliffs, which had for many years been listed on the National Estate register.

http://bayside-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/harbouring-beaumaris-doubts/

The Bolte Bridge 

Brighton Beach Victoria

Melbourne 

No matter Who takes the flag today the winner will be Beer

And Four Years Ago It Was In Melbourne

Commonwealth Games Baton Relay Bay Street Brighton 2006

The Wheel That Never Was

Docklands Melbourne

The Sun St Kilda Victoria 

Its Not In Melbourne but it is in Sydney

Sydney Nova Scotia Canada 

Who Will Be There This Year

2009 AFL Grand Final Parade 

Oakeshott rejects offer of ministry

From The Age Melbourne

Federal Independent MP Rob Oakeshott has rejected an offer to be a minister in a Labor minority government.

The member for Lyne announced his decision after speaking with with Prime Minister Julia Gillard this afternoon.

Mr Oakeshott said both sides of politics had offered him a portfolio.

But he declined the offer of a regional affairs ministry after talking with family and friends.

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-election/oakeshott-rejects-offer-of-ministry-20100910-154p2.html

a house that once was 

(a blast from the now defunct past)

It was my house, it is no more, it was a loverly house that I shared with possums, my brother Mark and 2 cats adoptively named  Casper and Tessa, a glorious time that is now only captured in my history and others memories. 

It's a Melbourne Tram but in San Francisco USA 

What to Do With The Uninvited Guests 

I live in a leafy Melbourne suburb and I just recently evicted some long time borders from my property. I have lived in my current house for the last 13 years, it was built in the early 1930’s and is a comfortable 4 bedroom home just perfect for my wife, our cat Samantha as well as my needs, but it would appear a family of possums found it a desirable abode as well.

The possum according to Wikipedia is

“is any of about 69 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi (and introduced to New Zealand and China). The name derives from their resemblance to the opossums of the Americas. The term "possum" is also used in North America as a short form of "Opossum".

I have nothing against possums at all, and apart from the previous few months cohabited with them, they never really worried me at all, they were uninvited guests, that for the most part were unobtrusive. I was not worried that possums habituated the roof space. Well not until l they started to act up, outstay their welcome, fight and run through out the ducting and vents of our heater and the finale act that lead to the need to evict they urinated and defecated though the ducts.

That was it they had to go, this was not the first run in we had with possums, they had always been part of our garden, we had cared for the sick amazed at their agility and even buried their dead in the past. We were not beyond leaving a spare apple out at night, but this was too much they had outstayed there’re welcome.

But how does one get rid of possums they are

“As a native species in Australia, possums are protected by Australian regulations, even when they reside in urban neighbourhoods, and cannot be baited. If captured, regulations stipulate that they must be released within a small radius of the capture site, as they are territorial creatures.”

Well preventative measures such preventing them entering the roof space such as blocking off their entrance points and building a possum nesting box are the only real alternatives. This is something that is beyond the ability of many of us myself included so I called for some help.

You can quickly search Google to find people in your area to assist with the removal of possums from your buildings. For my Melbourne readers, I recommend Paul Sturrock the Possum Whisperer, Paul has over 15 years experience in fixing possum problems in homes throughout Melbourne and surrounds.

Paul is a professional gentleman, that will promptly attend your property perform a free appraisal and provide a quote, he will then organise a time that suits you to begin, and before your know it your home will be possum free. You can contact Paul on 0408 308 036 or visit his is web page here.
http://www.vinylpusher.com.au/possumwhisperer.com.au/

Uninvited Guests hanging out in the most unexpected places  

You Too Can Try a Dr Pepper Down Under 

http://www.drpepper.com/

I have become infatuated with an old American Favourite Dr Pepper. I would love to tell you what it tastes like however you cannot tell anyone what Dr Pepper tastes like because it's so different. It's not an apple, it's not an orange, it's not a strawberry, it's not a root beer, and it’s not even a cola. It's a different kind of drink with a unique taste all its own.

Dr Pepper is a soft drink marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885.

Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Australia (as an imported drink) and South America.

In Australia you can order supplies from http://www.usafoods.com.au/

The Icehouse has arrived in Melbourne 

for the wheel my friends you'll have to wait

Melbourne has a new Icehouse, when I was mere boy a growing up in Melbourne Town in the seventies I remember this great band breaking into the music scene, the band Flowers and the debut album Icehouse. The band changed its name to Icehouse in 1981, and according to Wikipedia the name comes from an old, cold flat Iva Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people.

I recommend that you check the band out but that not is what this post is about, now here we are in 2010 and Melbourne has a new Icehouse.

The Icehouse is Australia’s new, world-class ice sports and entertainment venue. The venue contains two Olympic sized ice rinks, state-of-the-art sound and light systems, stadium seating for up to 1,000 people, specialist winter sports gym and a café, bar and function rooms.

I was lucky enough to check it out last Monday and I will be learning curling there in the not too distant future. The Icehouse is conveniently located in the heart of Melbourne’s Waterfront City at Docklands; the Icehouse is easily accessible by car and public transport. Directly  over the road from where the Melbourne's Southern Star should be located and I suppose as the following photo illustrates still is.

I find it kind of ironic that the inspiration of a name of an album all those year ago could link a new Icehouse with a wheel that should be populated by people enjoying the spectacular views of Melbourne but alas there are not even itinerant people here as sadly the Southern Star wheel has closed indefinitely resulting from damage incurred by Melbourne's record-breaking 2009 January heat wave. The extreme conditions caused the giant wheel to buckle and crack. The owners sought international advice on how to best repair the wheel and rest assured that is being repaired and it will be one day again be fully operational.

This whole precinct is a lovely additional to Melbourne Docklands community and also houses a shopping district called Harbour Town, that looks like it is doing OK since the premature demise of  the Southern Star wheel, so I hope that the addition of the Icehouse brings the much-needed foot traffic and shoppers until the wheels eventual return.

Titanic the Artifact Exhibition
I have had a fascination with the White Star Lines most famous/infamous ocean liner the Titanic for many many years as no doubt have had so many others people around the world. I have been fortunate enough to have visited Halifax in Nova Scotia Canada, the  closest major port to the 1912 sinking and where all of the recovered bodies were brought to. I have visited The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic which has what is generally recognized as the world's finest collection of wooden artifacts from Titanic. I also recently attended the Melbourne Exhibition of the Titanic Artefacts, one of many such exhibitions being staged at numerous venues worldwide.

And it was the most recent reminder of this great and most unlucky of ocean cruise liners that has prompted me to put together a brief smattering of Titanic postings as a way to encourage people to find out more about this most tragic ship of history.   

I found this video on You Tube that provides an excellent run down of what you would expect to see at the Titanic Expo in Melbourne, this is taken from the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts exhibition but the basic premise is the same.

Journey back to 1912 and experienceTitanic's maiden voyage.

Explore detailed reconstructions of the ship’s interior including the Grand Staircase and First and Third Class cabins. Discover how the ‘unsinkable’ ship met its fate and connect with the personal stories of people onboard as you view artefacts recovered from the ocean floor.

On the fateful night of April 15, 1912, Titanic, the world’s largest ship, sank after colliding with an iceberg on her maiden voyage bound for New York. The disaster claimed more than 1,500 lives and subsequently altered the world’s confidence in modern technology. Nearly 98 years later, See treasures never before presented in Australia in this Melbourne-only showing at the The Melbourne Museum.

I also have found this fantastic photo gallery at the Dublin website for the Titanic Exhibition
Titanic Exhibition Photo Gallery  

and finally a You Tube Video presentation of various photos and drawings of the great ship.

a friend I used to know 

boat houses Brighton Beach Victoria 

table service Melbourne style

have an egg flip big M @ your sella fella now 

It's back for all to enjoy, you can now all pick up an egg flip Big M at your local sella fella but only for a limited time. I enthusiastically wrote of Big M a few weeks ago and how Big M is a popular brand of flavored milk that was first established here in Victoria in 1978. It quickly expanded its distribution  into the states of New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. 

I first remember when Big M first arrived on the scene, suddenly we did not have to reach for the Quik (NESQUIK®) anymore to have flavored milk , it was a brilliant marketing strategy that aimed to increase milk sales and since the humble beginnings we have seen BIG M become a staple in Australian dairy cabinets and fridges everywhere for the past 32 years, It brings back glorious memories of summers past.

So it was with delight that I realized that they had a competition to bring back one of the flavors past, special edition flavors that ran for only a limited time. the choice included the following

The Choice was between

• Choc Berry
• Choc Jaffa
• Pine Lime
• Egg Flip
• Honeycomb
• Blue Heaven

well now its official Egg Fliphas been crowned the winner and will  be joining the following range in dairy cabinets and fridges everywhere on the 30th of August . I however wont be around for long as it is for a limited time only, so make sure you get out and taste it .

 What do you think will you be rushing out to purchase Egg Flip Big M? I know I will be.

a family of magpies Ringwood Victoria

New East Brighton bus route sparks protest

From 

BRIGHTON East residents are furious a new bus route will send nearly 360 buses a week through their streets. Route 626, to start on September 27, will wind through back streets between Nepean Highway and Hawthorn Rd seven days a week. Buses will run every 30 minutes on weekdays between 6am and 9pm, hourly on Saturday between 7am and 9pm and Sunday between 8am and 9pm. But residents said they were not consulted about the new route, and want the Department of Transport (DOT) to change it.

http://bayside-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/new-east-brighton-bus-route-sparks-protest/

the first Australian Gap Store Chadstone

http://www.chadstoneshopping.com.au/

South Melbourne - looking out from Crown Casino

all aboard Southern Cross Station

the vista over the bay to the city of Melbourne

egg flip is back @ your sella fella

The Melbourne Shrine Of Remembrance

The mysterious Port Phillip Bay

Melbourne Botanical Gardens

St Kilda Pier