Category: General
-
GIJA JUMULU
You’d be forgiven if you thought this huge boab tree (Adansonia gregorii) had lived in this spot overlooking Perth for many centuries. In fact, it’s only resided in the Western Australian Botanic Garden since 2008. No, boabs aren’t super-fast growing trees. The tree is in fact 750 years old and began its life 3200 kilometres
-
THE RETURN TICKET
Three years ago today, I got a bit emotional as I bid farewell to the family home and friends of 22 years. Joseph and I were en route on an epic father/son adventure to the Georgian Caucasus Mountains and after that I was heading off to an even greater adventure – a new job in
-
WE’RE NOT KARNEVAL PEOPLE
Karneval has once again arrived in Germany; and once again Padma and I have tried to avoid it. The partying, the drinking, the craziness, the costumes … it’s just not our scene. Maybe we’re just fuddy duddies. So when our neighbour sent a text and asked if we wanted to join them at a Karneval
-
TWELVE STATIONS OF THE CROSS. ONE SUNDAY MORNING.
Last Autumn, Padma and I hiked atop one of the Seven Hills at Petersberg on the right bank of the Rhine. We saw a couple stations of the cross and I wondered if there might be others. I later discovered on Wikipedia that the Petersberger Bittweg trail begins at the bottom of the hill and
-
A STUMBLE WITH A VIEW
Padma and I went out for a late afternoon walk yesterday in the forest near our home. I was focusing on some distant views of Oberwinter with its Rhine backdrop and managed to get my feet tangled in the thick leaf litter. Clumsy as I am I took a roll and ended up on my
-
THE WALK HOME
My heart really races each time I come home from work. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. It’s not entirely because I know my sweetheart is awaiting me. I get a pretty good workout on my way home. I get off the train at Oberwinter and immediately get on a pathway to climb home to ‘Oberwinter Heights’. In
-
THE SEA CHANGE. AUF WIEDERSEHEN ADELAIDE
A few years ago, Padma and I started talking about a sea change. Joseph was nearing the end of his high school days and that would present us with an opportunity to spice up our lives a bit … change our jobs, change homes, change something, change anything. We all reach a point in our
-
TEMPRANILLO ARGENTINE STYLE
I was out on a morning bushwalk when the ping of an incoming SMS drew me out of my forest trance. ‘Estoy llevando Tempranillo y voy a moler como a las 10.30’. It was my Argentine friend, Martin, and he had just received 600 kilos of Tempranillo grapes and was about to crush them. I
-
MARTIN KICKS OFF VINTAGE 2017
Vintage 2017 has started in the Adelaide Hills so I headed out to the vineyards to make sure my favourite bubbly, the Mordrelle Wines Blanc de Blancs, was being picked to perfection under the demanding eye of my compañero, Martin Moran. Martin and I played softball on the Hahndorf Men’s team for several years but
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.