Sydney photos - day 1 - including an opera house, a bridge, a boat and a car crushed by a rock

Exploring Sydney from Circular Quay, round the Rocks and back.

                                                 
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Sydney_photos_-_day_1_-_includ.zip (2332 KB)

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Posted 12 days ago

Hunter Valley wineries photos

A day trip to the Hunter Valley, including Tempus Two, McGuigan, Pepper Tree and Irongate vineyards. Purchases included some fine gewurztraminer, sauv blanc and verdelho.
 

                 
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Hunter_Valley_wineries_photos.zip (978 KB)

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Posted 13 days ago

Pelican feeding at The Entrance, and beaches at Bateau Bay, NSW - photos

 

                   
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Pelican_feeding_at_The_Entranc.zip (1108 KB)

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Posted 13 days ago

Retro Australian ice creameries and fish chipperies - photos from The Entrance, Central Coast, NSW

       
Click here to download:
Retro_Australian_ice_creamerie.zip (357 KB)

Fantastic fish and chips from Jimbo's, followed by a unique creation involving a Caramello Koala cruelly mashed up into rum and raisin ice cream with honeycomb on a frozen counter.
Next stop: pelican feeding!

 

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Posted 14 days ago

Australian reptile park photos - including baby wombats

A trip to the Australian Reptile Park -  http://www.reptilepark.com.au/ - to be educated about reptiles that will probably kill me and koalas that will probably fall asleep on me.

                                                         
Click here to download:
Australian_reptile_park_photos.zip (3933 KB)

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Filed under  //  Australia   photos   wildlife  
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Posted 14 days ago

Melbourne photos - The Langham, St Kilda's festival and city skyline

Highlights of the first day in Melbourne - including a stay at The Langham and a trip to St. Kilda's.

                               
Click here to download:
Melbourne_photos_-_The_Langham.zip (1756 KB)

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Filed under  //  Australia   photos  
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Posted 14 days ago

G1 - South-West London's most tortuous bus route?

Picture the scene: Clapham Junction on a cold winter's evening, it's a whole eight minutes' wait for a 77 back to the warmth and homeliness of SW17, and there's only the feeble interest of the TK Maxx shop windows to pass the time.

You might be tempted to take a chance on the G1 bus that pulls up alongside. You shouldn't be. It transpires on the crazy course of this tragic single-decker that the route of the G1 is highly recommended only if you:

a) Have an hour of your life you don't mind never having again.
b) Are fond of the hospitals, mental institutions and sink estates of the future that have accumulated in inner South-West London.
c) Think the term 'as the crow flies' does not appeal as a logical route between where you are and where you need to get to.

The ever-detailed London Bus Routes website gives an informative look at how this bastard bus route came into being, which it describes optimistically as 'criss-crossing the borough [of Wandsworth]'. I'd describe it more as careering erratically from Clapham to Streatham via Clapham South, Wandsworth Common and the Tooting hinterland.

Having been stuck in traffic as the G1 bus meandered its clumsy way via Clapham South (EAST?! We want to head WEST!) once we got to Wandsworth Common station I had high hopes that we might pick up the pace.

My hopes were realised, in that we did go faster, but they were also simultaneously dashed, as we proceeded to amble ever-increasing miles in ever-decreasing circles around Springfield Hospital, before a wasteful foray into St. George's Grove and the Aboyne Estate, at one point taking a road that Google Maps denies even the existence of (see the yellow point on the Google Map below). Worrying.


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Disagree with my assessment of the G1? Add a comment...

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Posted 1 month ago

Rabbids Go Home (Wii game) soundtrack video

Promo for the insanely catchy soundtrack to Rabbids Go Home.

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Posted 1 month ago

Free weekend tickets with London Oyster card annual season tickets from South West Trains

As 2009 draws to a close, don't forget these ways to save money on your Annual Season Ticket renewal costs:

1) Buy your Annual Season ticket before the end of 2009 to beat fare increases in January 2010.

2) Use your employer's interest-free season ticket loan scheme.

3) Pay on a cashback credit card (e.g. on a John Lewis Partnership Mastercard you'll get 0.5% cashback - equivalent to £5 on a £1,000 season ticket - enough for a 'free' bottle of wine!)

4) The big one: if your commuting journey includes travel on South West Trains (SWT) then you can get six free weekend tickets valid for a year when you buy an Annual Season Ticket (Gold Card). This is possible for every Gold Card, but if you want to get the Gold Card benefits and have your Season Ticket on your swipeable Oyster card here's how:

You must buy your Annual Season Ticket from either Wimbledon or Richmond stations, and use the South West Trains ticket offices. The six free weekend tickets will then be posted to you.

The free tickets are valid anywhere on the South West Trains network - that's down as far as Exeter - but can only be used by the Gold Card holder or people travelling with him or her...

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Bonnie Scotland on a Christmas walk

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Posted 2 months ago