How much courage does one need?

I thought this is it! A competition of photographs taken in Pemberton. And, we had spent 4 days there in late December. So, surely I could find some suitable snaps. And I thought I could.
For instance this one...nature's bell! Great in this size but try and blow it up to be printed then maybe it is not of competition value.

Then again this one...the threatening weather taken from the sand dune aspect.

I tried to register it but it wasn't wide enough! never mind I told myself, it
remains a favourite of mine.
The picnic table below you've seen before, no matter, it exudes peace in my mind so it won't attract a judge's opinion.

 This next one just might be too busy but it shows me that life and growth will go on no matter who or what tries to call a halt to it. There must be life where
you never expect to find it.

Another favourite of mine! Blackboys and cloud formations.











And of course, sand dunes. Not out of Africa but right here amongst the trees of Pemberton.

 And that is exactly one of the three themes of the Pemberton Photographic Competition. So why aren't I rushing to enter? Simple! The one time I have endless choices for the competition I won't be around when the dates for the competition begin and finish. Oh well I still love my photos so much that I will probably find a spot for them on my own walls. That is the least I can do. Maybe I'll enter some of them in the clubs' competitions too.
This one of the grasses is called 'In the Wild'. I liked the angles. Guess where it was taken.....

Still reflecting!!

But this time thinking of one of the LIVING TREASURES while my stomach is turning and wishing I hadn't inherited HASHIMOTOS...yes I do love food! But my body loves it too and wants to save every morsel in case we ever have the experience of starvation...no food produced in Australia...only imported from CHINA. But I don't want to think of that do you? I didn't imagine you would. I apologise to all my ASIAN friends. This is not meant to offend you but to make us realise in Australia that we are being bought up by rich ASIANS...property and farms but I won't be around to have to deal with it!!!So I'll remember the good times.....
No seriously I am re-reading the cook book written by Margaret Fulton...not only recipes but recipes for life are included. Margaret Fulton is now nearly 87 yrs young and is responsible for the introduction of French cooking (also Mediteranean) into our kitchens throughout Australia. Her cooking lessons began in the forties but I met her in 1968/yes this is for the long memoried individuals reading this BLOG.
We had a lot in common...more than I realised at the time. We both started using xrays to earn our keep-she to xray screws and bolts (her war effort I suppose) and myself using x-rays to explore the human body. And this brings me to our meeting...in Macquarie Street Sydney...a private practice of Radiologists...the routine had been the same to welcome someone of importance...clean white freshly starched sheets welcomed a sheepish looking young female of few words but a big smile. Why the sheepish and embarrassed look? Well, she was a top chef you know, her skills well publicised so why did she need a Barium Meal? I know but I'm not allowed to say. But I could hear the whispering in the tea-room...an ulcer?' So what's wrong with her cooking?'
Of course we know now that ulcers are not due to diet or cooking or drinking of alcohol habits but the result of bacteria probably caused by a virus. Yes once again, a discovery made by an Australian, the researchers (2) deserving the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

Tranby Reflections!!!

Tranby? Yes TRANBY HOUSE! Here our WACC (photographic club) chose to meet at 5:30 am to enjoy the dawn breaking on Australia Day 2014. And you stayed in bed and missed it!!! Well lucky for you I took some snaps!! And Skippy wasn't one of them. But seeing it was Australia Day I thought a bush kangaroo couldn't be more appropriate.

 Of course the Australian flag hung proudly...but on a Canadian boat? Well you can't have everything even if you do watch the sunrise chanting the Australian  National Anthem...well almost. We had quite a crowd taking the same photograph so I thought I'd get mine in first.





Then I started to wonder about the roots of this wonderful place. Yes Tranby house, thanks to the
Perth Road Board, a plaque mounted to honour the century plus old building, let us know that it was built in 1830. An experienced Yeoman farmer from Yorkshire,
Joseph Hardey, had arrived on the good ship TRANBY
and had chosen this site to establish his house and farm

 So when you visit Maylands next stop at the Tranby House Museum and refresh yourself at the quaint cafe. The ghost of Joseph Hardey won't concern you but the breath-taking views will. AND you don't have to be there at morning break.

How can it be?

It is the Australia Day weekend. And so, I'm reading the Weekend Australian but what do I find? On page 8 a call from the past registers. As a young and green Receptionist/Clerk at the New Zealand Trade Commission the accountant continued calling me "Bertie". This I thought was fairly reasonable seeing my mother had christened me "Albertina". I thought no more about it until today that is. The article on page 8 interested me because it was  about Prince Albert, younger brother of Prince Edward. And, Prince Albert was always known as "Bertie". Of course, as an 18 year old and a German migrant child, I had no idea of British Royalty.
But why were my chosen Christian names, Cornelia Albertina Regina, Queen/crowned, Royal, Regal, all referring to  Royalty? My mother was Prussian and admittedly she had been adopted by a Baron and Baroness. However, Tom Valentine the accountant, persisted with his name-calling. So much so that when the Prime Minister of NZ made his visit to our Sydney Office, Tom introduced me as "Bertie, the Office Boy". Very Funny? He thought so. But the Prime Minister swallowing a laugh responded only with "Very impressive" and shook my hand. For a young girl it was very embarrassing!! But I can understand it now. Tom had been old enough to be able to relate to the Royal family and of course Prince Albert or "Bertie". A back handed compliment indeed! But I have never been able to satisfy the intention of my Royal names nor had I ever asked my mother about what may have been intended. Perhaps my memoir could help, "Kin Deep and the Inability To Mourn" ISBN 978-1-742842-88-2 . Happy Australia Day!!

I can't believe it #2!

And here I was in my previous blog wishing my Publisher a happy New Year without me. And I actually apologised about my cutting remarks (breaking my New Year's Resolution not to slate anyone) in the following post. Then comes the e-mail written by a completely different person with polite gestures etc. someone not known to me before this and tells me that my publishing contracts allow for my book presentation to be at the BEA (American Expo) in 2014. That is good news isn't it? Well yes, only one snag...only one of your two books can be presented. So here we go again...up one minute down the next...and actually you will find that very little will happen anyway. If...If...If something does then I'll eat my words!! I promise!!
There is no possibility of my memoir which by the way deals with Germany, WWII etc. to be presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Well, one can't have everything.
So perhaps 'Baggage'  ISBN 978-1-742842-56-1 will get a run in America but 'Kin Deep and the Inability To Mourn' ISBN 978-1-742842-48-6 will have to wait for my planned reprint including photos, the translation into German and my use of the real names of my sisters (yes they didn't want to be identified and I obliged). How nice am I? But the times have changed and if I had been one of those sisters and I had behaved the way they chose to behave then I wouldn't have wanted to be identified either.
So have a Happy New Year everyone...its a whole 12 months you know, the year that is!!!

Boredom has struck!!!

Here I am trying to convert my overweight Xmas body into something much less I used to be and all I can find on my Facebook page is recipes and more luscious food. Thanks Janet but I don't need to see these delectables right now. You eat them! You need to Grow!!! By the way since your noodle dish on New Year's day I have been hooked on the darn things...can't stop using them in my stir fries. So I'll include some foodie fotos...just looking won't put on the weight!!

 You might say I'm a seafood fan but I won't be eating fish in Bali...well I'd be very careful if I did.
If you like that crab and there are thousands everywhere...you will need to go to the Galapagos Islands.
This B/B/Q fish lunch you can order at Assos on the south coast of Turkey...a quaint little fishing village, Assos, popular with German tourists.

And this amazing choice of fresh fish was a small selection of many....at Istanbul Fish markets.              But according to those who know ....if you want great fish just throw in a line but whatever you do don't interfere with our shark bait lines...you'll be charged. So be patient! The fish shops will be full of shark meat soon enough!! By the way it is a delicious fish but should we be culling them in that violent way?  

Remorse so early in the year!!!

Yes thanks to a reader friend she reminded me about my so called New Year's Resolutions....and I have already broken one...in my haste to mention what I have believed in for almost a year now. BUT I did offend a couple of people in my life by writing about it....my belief and supported by a very successful writer, Lionel Shriver. So no, what you see or read about me is what you get. But, I will try harder next time. I know I will!!

So now you might get the impression
that I am promoting BMW cars! No wrong again! I am promoting holidays close to home. A few days away
can do miracles for you and those around you. These photographs prove how a short trip down south
to Pemberton can be entirely worthwhile...and challenging should your
driver take you to the sand dunes to discover and challenge yourself. There is always the comfort to know that a short drive later you can relax at your rented cottage.

Not only were the angles and ridges for the car challenging but for the photographer it was a test to produce some original images.
The clouds passing over us served as another interest. These photographs don't show all the available views (waterways and bush surrounds) but I hope they are interesting enough to attract a visit from you at some time...that is if you have a four-wheel drive!

If not there are plenty of places with magnificent views to sit and relax....picnic and all.