It’s Friday. It means that it’s a day to go jaunting around Melbourne to discover its glorious suburbs. So I jump into my car and decide to drive to the eastern leafy suburb of Mont Albert. The Mont Albert Village in Hamilton Street is a cute strip of old shops that are a mix of […]
McClelland Sculpture Park
Last week I visited the McClelland Sculpture Park in Langwarrin Melbourne. It’s a great place to spend a morning or afternoon wandering the grounds and looking at the various modern art sculptures that interact with the elements. Looking at art – any art – opens the mind into a curious and inquisitive state. I was […]
Why I Love My YouTube Channel: For The Stories People Write
Even though creating videos to share online on YouTube is a bit of a pain, I prefer reading the comments from viewers and fellow readers. This morning I read one that I loved. As a history buff, this reader brought back to life a part of Melbourne that was long since forgotten: Cheshire’s Bookstore. What […]
Indoor Skydiving
This morning we headed off to Essendon Fields, an area near the airport that has airfield and various hangars that are now a bustling retail precinct. I had bought a voucher for Andrew to experience indoor skydiving but as he had a frozen shoulder for most of the year, he couldn’t use it. Now that […]
Visit to Bastille Day French 
Festivities at the Queen Victoria Market
What a glorious sunny Melbourne winter’s day! Today I decided to head into town to see the French Bastille Day winter markets at the Queen Victoria Market. I hadn’t been there in many years so I was keen to see how the place had evolved. It’s usually quite busy on market days with the […]
Trip to Moonee Ponds to Check out Collins Booksellers
One of the things I love to do is to go somewhere new in our city and just walk and explore. I was going to meet my friend in Ascot Vale to have lunch at a cute cafe called Old Man Andrew in Ascot Vale. As I was early, I stayed on the tram and […]
Battered by Melbourne Storms
The day was sweltering hot on Tuesday. It was 38 and with strong winds. The worst weather you’d wish to have in a state that still remembers the worst bush fires that decimated entire regions, homes, livestock, flora and fauna a few years back. I had just started my French class when there was a […]
Pretending Like it’s 1942
Over the last few days I’ve been pretending it’s 1942 in Melbourne. It was a weird time back then. Singapore and Phillipines had fallen to the Japanese and there was a general sense of impending doom. The prime minister of the time, Curtin, inspired Australians to serve and that was the time, the war came […]
French Markets in Melbourne
Our weather in Melbourne has been wet, cold and miserable. As an indication, I’m wearing a scarf and beanie at the moment – unheard of at this time of the year. The constant grey dampness is affecting my mood. I don’t mind cold weather – it’s when it just constantly rains for days that affects […]
My Peaceful Place at Rippon Lea
Sometimes when I want a bit of an escape from the boredom of home, I go for a short drive to my “other house”. 
Of course, it’s not my “real” home but it’s an escape from the busyness outside on the streets to smack bang into the middle of Edwardian times. Simpler times. The […]
Earthquake In Melbourne
Early this morning around 1:30am I was awakened by a tapping sound just outside our bedroom door. Andrew wasn’t in bed as he had just returned from a night watching a live band in a dodgy part of town. He was in the lounge room having a quiet cuppa before he went to bed. As […]
Visit to Victorian State Parliament
Today we spent the day with our nephew who was visiting from interstate. It was another glorious sunny day so we walked around the city and decided to check out the free public tour guide of Victorian State Parliament. The tour guide was EXCELLENT. He wasn’t dry and boring instead, an animated storyteller that had […]
I Wagged School Today
I did a Ferris Bueller. I wagged school. I didn’t feel like going to the U3A classes today because I had been playing the ukulele and practising French in my own time all weekend. Those classes could wait another week. Instead I wanted to walk the city streets and have some time to be in […]
On Our Way to The Proclaimers in Melbourne
Last night we saw The Proclaimers in concert.
Florence And The Machine
We went to see Florence and the Machine last night at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne as part of her 8th World Tour.
Huntingdale Wetlands
One of the best things that came out of COVID lockdowns here in Melbourne was the 5km radius rule. We could travel no further out than 5km radius from our home which made it interesting to discover nooks and crannies in your own area you would otherwise have not known about. I discovered new laneways, […]
River Cruising in Melbourne
Today is a public holiday in Melbourne, a once off holiday as the National Day of Mourning for the Queen’s passing. We have been having awful weather lately with lots of rain so when the sun came out today, it felt like all of Melbourne was out with us too. Tomorrow is another public holiday […]
Friday Friday
I had a lovely day today despite the weather being grey and miserable. I headed down to Station Pier to spend the day with a friend walking and catching up with news. Despite my photos below looking nice and sunny, the water and skies all blended into one sludge of grey. There was no wind […]
Grim Melbourne
Today I worked in the city. It’s the time of the year where it gets dark early. There are dead leaves on wet and oily city streets underfoot and you need to be careful where you step so you don’t slip. People are rushing to get to work or to get home. All in the […]
Learning To Fly a Drone
Our 21 year old nephew, Oliver is staying with us for a few days as he’s here to enjoy the football. At this time of the year, many Melbourne locals love going to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG or “The G”) for the ANZAC Day (25 April) match between football teams Essendon (The Bombers) and […]