FENCES # 1 - FIRST IN A NEW SERIES

NOT THIS

It's time for a new series I think. Recent series on windows, light switches and the nicest people I've known have either fallen on deaf ears or I've run out of source material.

Looking out of the study window for inspiration I spotted something that will enthral you - a fence.

Yes, a fence which got me thinking of fences that I've known.



I'll start with the fences around our property (3 sides only).

EAST SIDE

This fence is on the East side of our property. It is nice and high and solid and keeps the neighbour's dogs on their own property. Sometimes, if said dogs are barking I throw rocks at this fence to make a big noise and to shut the dogs up. The fence is still in good condition although I don't know when it was erected as it was there when we moved in nearly 10 years ago.





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WEST SIDE

Another tall wooden fence also in good condition. This fence is newer than the East side fence but as it was here when we moved in I don't know how old it is. The neighbours here don't have dogs and their house is a holiday home. They are only up here once or twice a month.

.

SOUTH SIDE

The South side fence is a scrappy wire netting thing that is in poor condition. It separates us from some farmland behind. I see no need to replace it in the short term unless Richard comes to stay. There are often cows in the field and they come right up to this fence and chew on the bushes. Richard is afraid of cows so I may have to put up something more substantial.

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Well that's it for fences today - I trust that you were enthralled. We at THE CURMUDGEONS INC.ⓒ pride ourselves in keeping readers entertained and informed.

I CAIN'T REFUSE IT

HOYT AXTON

It was cold enough to light the fire on Saturday night which warmed the house up and created a cosy atmosphere for The Old Girl and I.


We shared a bottle of Deutz Blanc de Blanc while playing pool (she beat me both games - bugger!) and each had a decent glass of pinot noir with dinner. She was flying to Canada the next day so didn't want more and to run the risk of being dehydrated on the flight.

I  finished the pinot noir last night but don't feel like opening a bottle of anything tonight. What would be ideal though as I'm preparing dinner is to have a small glass or two of sherry. A good sherry is perfect as an aperitif - see:

JEREZ ENDETH THE LESSON

but there's no chance of buying any half bottles up north. I'll have to wait until I next go to Auckland and go to a Glengarry shop or another specialist wine shop.

BACHING YET AGAIN

STILL NOT THIS GUY

I'm just about to take Lynn to the airport where she flies to Auckland to link with an overseas flight.
She's off to Canada for a few weeks on a work assignment so I'll be 'baching' on my own up here.

She's only been back from Melbourne for just over a week and now is off again. What's that all about?

With the Melbourne assignment (3 weeks plus) I was able to go over there for an extended weekend which was great but can't afford to do the same thing with Canada.

TIP TOP*

* (Not the ice-cream company).




I made a wholemeal loaf this afternoon and, as I was hungry cut a slice and had it with Havarti cheese while it was still warm.

⚡FLASH⚡This took me right back to the 1960s when, on Sunday evenings after Sunday Mass (yes Robert it did happen) we would call in to Tip Top bakery in Newtown to buy bread and buns.

Tip Top bakery (previously Denhard's I think) in the 1960s

I'm not certain but think that it was only on Sunday afternoons that the bakery sold directly to the public then. It was really special to eat the still warm bread with our Sunday night tea.

Memory is triggered by smells, tastes, sounds and other sensations  which more than often can take us right back to time and place.

See from previous posts:

COFFEE AND CAKE


MY MADELEINE


This is what the warm sandwich did for me this afternoon.

Lovely.

WANKER

Now that title could apply to many of my posts and many of my blog readers (including myself).

In this case it relates to the dick I followed in to town this morning.

He was towing a cage trailer behind his car and a couple kms after he pulled in front of me from a side road the rear gate of the trailer snapped open and continually swung from wide open to closed.

At the wide open point it actually covered parts of the footpath , walking areas or road verge depending on where the car was travelling.

The gate was swinging out  at right angles to the trailer.

I flashed my lights and beeped the horn but the driver took no notice.

On the drive into town (25 minutes) I continually flashed the headlights and beeped but the stupid arsehole paid no attention.

I wound down the drivers window and made the universal signal to pull over in case he was watching in his rearview mirror.

Not this one although I should have used it

.

This one where for a car you point your arm out and bend it up over the roof pointing to the left.

The dickhead didn't look in his mirror even though I was flashing, beeping and gesticulating.

Now you might wonder why I was taking so much trouble. It's because a gate flying open on one of these trailers while being towed at between 80 and 100 km is bloody dangerous not only to the driver but especially to pedestrians and cyclists. In a 70km area with no footpaths I saw up ahead a guy standing at the edge of the road. Fortunately as the car and trailer passed him the gate moved back to the closed position only to fly back out wide about 50 metres later. Bloody lucky pedestrian!

I continually hooted and flashed but the stupid arsehole up front paid no attention.

When we reached a 50km area before the town he finally noticed something and indicated that he was pulling over.

I pulled in behind him and got out. I asked him why he had ignored my signalling for the last 20 minutes or so. The stupid arsehole looked a bit blank and said that he'd only just looked in his mirror and noticed that the gate was open. I told him that I'd tried to get his attention for ages. 

"Haven't you got a horn" he said so I told him how dangerous his driving had been and that I was doing him a favour as  if he'd continued to drive through town like that he would have definitely collected a pedestrian, a cyclist or at least a parked car. The arsehole then got huffy and aggressive. I told him he was an idiot and got in my car and drove off.

What a wanker!

GETTING BACK INTO IT

I joined a small fitness gym yesterday in the small shopping area close to home.
Since damaging my knee last year I haven't been doing as much exercise as before having to curtail the hill climbing of Mount Manaia and Mount Aubrey which I used to do regularly .

Mount Manaia

Mount Aubrey

I've been noticing the decline of my fitness even though I still walk the bush tracks and play tennis twice a week. This was underscored by The Old Girl's new fitness regimen after having had her hip replacement last year. She's back into running and swimming and quite frankly is leaving me behind. Something had to be done.

The cost of the gym is $15 a week which, annualised ($780) is way more than the golf membership but this gym has a flexible payment arrangement with no lock-in contracts. I can pay weekly or monthly and cancel out at any time. If I find it doesn't suit I'll dump it without still having had a huge layout of spondoolaks (a greek name for money that my dad and other soldiers from WW2 brought back home with them, along with, Richard - 'date' being a slang term for bottom). If I do use the gym regularly then $780 is a good investment in health.

I went along today after tennis and spent about 50 minutes doing cardio (bike, walking machine and rowing machine), weight machines and free weights. I took it easy so as not to damage anything (me not the gym equipment) as it's over two years since I was last in a gym in York. I'll build up to an hour or an hour and a half and plan to do this at least 3 times a week.

Not this one but similar

It's nice and casual at this gym and I was given a swipe key to use to come and go 24 hours / 7 days a week which suits me fine. I won't attend formal fitness classes as, like with golf, I prefer to just do my own thing when I want. When I went today at about 11.30 I was the only one there and it was good just pottering about familiarising myself with the equipment. It was nice and peaceful until midday when a woman came in and immediately turned on the music machine, blasting out The Police greatest hits.

This reminded me of some hassles I had in the gym in the condo we lived in when we were in Toronto where gym-bunnies would turn on televisions at ear shattering volumes - see:

GYM ETIQUETTE

Why do people do this? She could see that I was there exercising away in peace and quiet yet still felt compelled to make a bloody annoying racket. I looked at her:

This wasn't her

and was just about to ask her to turn down her racket when thankfully the CD corrupted and the system turned itself off.

RACKET




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HOW MANY MEAT EATERS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHTBULB? - NONE AS THEY'D RATHER STAY IN THE DARK ABOUT THINGS

This morning when playing tennis the young steers, as usual came up to the fence to watch us.

They are very inquisitive and like to have their faces stroked. One, when a tennis ball sailed over the fence chased after it and began to eat it. I love these animals and it breaks my heart to know that they are there because the farmer is fattening them up before sending them to an abattoir somewhere.

I don't eat a lot of meat but I do eat it - chicken, lamb and some beef. I am cutting down on it but look forward to the time when I can eat a decent protein substitute.

Recently Air New Zealand caused an uproar when it decided to promote a meatless burger. See below excerpts from the AAP report:

"Air New Zealand this week announced it would be serving food tech start-up Impossible Foods' plant-based burger to business customers flying from Los Angeles to Auckland, producing a video and flying journalists over for the promotion.

It didn't take long for the news to ruffle feathers at home.
From politicians to industry lobby groups, patriotic sighs of disappointment came in, questioning why a taxpayer owned company was endorsing an American product over homegrown meat.
"We produce the most delicious steaks and lamb on the planet," the National Party's Nathan Guy declared.
"The national carrier should be pushing our premium products."
The head of industry lobby group Beef and Lamb New Zealand said Kiwi farmers would be justified in feeling upset and let down, and the Federated Farmers group said there were domestic products that could have been promoted instead.
And so the country's acting prime minister, Winston Peters, stepped in, his populist NZ First Party calling for the airline to review its decision and saying it was a "slap in the face".

"I'm utterly opposed to fake beef," Mr Peters, the deputy prime minister standing in for Jacinda Ardern - on maternity leave - told reporters.
"Some of the taxpayers are the farming industry who want to ensure they get top end of the product market offshore and our airline should be its number one marketer."


The Impossible Burger is sold in about 2500 restaurants across the United States and the company says its goal is to make food more sustainable. It says the burger creates about 87 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than those made from cows.

AAP

Jul 5 2018

Meat substitution isn't new but it is getting better and 'The Impossible Burger is an example of this.

Read this very interesting report by Adele Peters:

Get Ready For A Meatless Meat Explosion, As Big Food Gets On Board
When the meatpacking giant Cargill sold off its last cattle feedlots in April, it said that it wanted to free up funds to invest in alternatives like insects and plant-based protein. Four months later, along with Bill Gates and Richard Branson, the company joined a $17 million round of investment in Memphis Meats, a startup that grows beef and chicken from cells instead of on farms.

It was one of several large deals in 2017 for meatless meats. Tyson Foods, the largest meat producer in the U.S., was part of a $55 million round of investment in Beyond Meat. Roughly a year after it started selling its meat-like burgers in mainstream grocery stores, Beyond Meat’s products are now in 19,000-plus stores. For Tyson, which also invested in Beyond Meat in 2016, it’s an example of a new direction for the company that is no longer focused solely on meat. “We’re talking about ourselves as a protein company,” says Justin Whitmore, executive vice president of corporate strategy and chief sustainability officer for Tyson.
Nestle acquired Sweet Earth Foods, which sells products like “Harmless Ham” and “Benevolent Bacon.” Maple Leaf Foods, a Canadian company known for selling Kam and Klik–the Canadian versions of Spam–along with deli meat, pork, poultry, and other meats, acquired Lightlife, a company that makes products like “Chick’n” and plant-based hot dogs, and is in the process of acquiring Field Roast, which makes both plant-based meat and dairy-free cheese. Major meat processors are reportedly in taks to license Hampton Creek’s technology for “clean” meat. (Clean meat, grown from animal cells, is also sometimes called “lab-grown” meat, though the industry says that’s inaccurate–when produced at scale, the products will be brewed like beer.) Unilever invested in university research to recreate the texture of steak. Walmart asked suppliers to provide more meat-free products.

IMPOSSIBLE BURGER PATTIES

 All of this signals that the meat industry is embracing the shift in the market, says Bruce Friedrich, executive director of the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that supports the plant-based and clean meat industry and researchers. He points to a January 2016 issue of a meat industry magazine–Meating Place – in which the letter from the editor says that the industry can see meat-free meat as an opportunity or a threat. “She implored the meat industry to see it as an opportunity,” he says. “She said what we believe to be true at GFI, that the meat industry is satisfying consumer demand.” By 2020, Nestle predicts that plant-based foods will represent a $5 billion market in the U.S.


“Plant protein is among the fastest growing categories in all of retail,” says Dan Curtin, president of alternative protein at Maple Leaf Foods, which sees the category as key to the company’s own growth and a way to meet sustainability goals. “Plant protein categories are experiencing double-digit growth, and in some categories high double-digit growth. Consumers are still eating meat, but they are also looking for additional protein choices, and plant protein is the natural solution to meet that demand.”

“When we think about investments like this, we’re thinking about an ‘and’ model, not an ‘or’ model,” says Tyson’s Whitmore. “So this investment does not cause us to rethink where we think the growth is in protein broadly in the other meat-based platforms. What it is, is access to new alternatives, innovation, and thinking that we think could be quite interesting and quite disruptive.”
Of course, investing in plant-based and clean meat is also a way to reduce any risk of losing market share. Tyson’s CEO predicts that in 25 years, 20% of meat will consist of these non-meat products. Rabobank, a major international agricultural financier, said that the growth of these foods should be a “wakeup call to the animal protein sector.” The president of the Meat Industry Hall of Fame called the new meat substitutes one of the “greatest ag challenges” for 2018 in a recent post, writing that the influx of new cash means that “several companies now have the money to do the serious research to make fake meat taste more like the real thing rather than what you put in a horse’s feed bag. All that new money buys lots of shelf space at the local HyVee or Piggly Wiggly, too. If you’re raising the grains that are often the raw materials for this stuff, good for you. If you’re raising cattle, you’re battling still another unwanted competitor for the center of the consumer’s plate.”

Richard Branson predicts that the new meat will go even further, fully replacing traditional meat in roughly three decades. Friedrich thinks that won’t quite be true–subsistence farmers will likely still raise livestock, he says, and some people will want to pay a premium for humanely, sustainably raised meat from farms that use practices like regenerative agriculture. But the majority of the market could make the shift. “I think that all industrial meat will be plant-based meat or clean meat because plant-based meat and clean meat are so efficient–they will taste the same or better, and be cheaper,” he says.
Newer companies in the industry, such as Impossible Foods and Memphis Meats, aren’t targeting vegetarians with their products; instead, their burgers are designed to appeal to meat eaters who are concerned about issues like the carbon footprint of beef, or the overuse of antibiotics on farms. Companies that have been around longer, making veggie burgers for a niche market, are also realizing that their products can evolve. Technology is making meatless meat truly realistic and will continue to improve. In some cases, as Impossible Foods CEO Pat Brown argues, the new products could be tweaked to taste better than meat, because they’re not constrained by the limitations of raising livestock. “I think we’re going to see huge research and development based improvements in plant-based meat in the very near future,” says Friedrich.
Plant-based dairy products, like soy and almond milk, have grown in recent years to make up a 9% or 10% share of the overall market, while cow-based dairy products have declined. Plant-based and clean meat products, which have only a tiny fraction of the meat market now at less than a quarter of 1%, may follow the path of dairy.
“It’s hard to turn back time and know for sure, but it sure looked to me in real time like Dean Foods buying White Wave was the precipitating factor that moved plant-based milk from the dusty nether-regions of the health food store into every Target, Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, and other grocery stores in the country,” says Friedrich. “So the fact that Cargill has purchased a stake in Memphis Meats, and Tyson has purchased a stake in Beyond Meat, and Big Food sees plant-based meat and clean meat as moving into the mainstream, will actually move plant-based meat into the mainstream.”

Adele Peters is a staff writer at Fast Company

Good on Air New Zealand for stirring this up. I personally will look forward to eating an Impossible Burger and will definitely buy 'meatless meat' when it becomes available.

Boo to Nathan Guy, Winston Peters and the various meat industry lobbyists in New Zealand for trying to put down this initiative.
That kind of Luddite behaviour is what the motor vehicle industry and solid fuel promoters  are guilty of. Change is inevitable and we have to embrace it.

What New Zealand is exceptionally good at is taking an established concept or industry and, by applying sound initiatives and a focus on quality, improving them. New Zealand needs to face up to the fact that the primary meat industry could well be on its last legs (pun intended) and needs to take this by the tail (pun wasn't intended) and run with it. We of course will need to continue with high quality meat production but will need to specialise on super premium quality albeit in smaller volumes kind of like our approach to wines where New Zealand wines are all of super quality standard when exported and captures the highest average price of any wine in the world.

At the same time New Zealand must embrace this new trend which may well soon cease to be a trend and become the norm and improve on it - market it, sell it and own it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU .......

...... Apple iMac 24 inch.

10 years old today.

We bought our trusty Apple Mac in 2008 and it has never given us trouble except for slowing down a bit a couple of years ago.

I fixed this by buying software which cost me $29 and spent some time on-line downloading the free additions upgrades. See  HERE

A few weeks back it was getting a bit slow again but I worked out how to use Activity Monitor and discovered some (hopefully not scamming) programmes that were blocking things. I got rid of these and got back the processing speed and a lot of memory.

We use Clean My Mac as a cleaning programme and I downloaded a malware cleaner as well to keep the scrotes at bay.

Good old Apple Mac. Still going strong.

BOTHERHOOD

Well Richard seemed to like my music suggestion in my previous post. I guess that means that he's open to suggestions and recomendations for the new uniform for his Italian themed trio.
The fascist-inspired black uniform hasn't gone down well with the other band members and the public apparently.

Richard needs to brighten the look up a bit.

I did some pro bono research for him and I think came up with a winner.

In 1970 The Brotherhood of Man had a catchy look with matching uniforms that are just right. I can see Richard looking like the heavy-set guy in the group.

What do you think?

THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN

WHAT BOYS LIKE

Good friend Richard is a great musician having made a career of it (mostly academic) but still has difficulty getting 'gigs'' and finding venues to play where people will actually pay good money to come and listen to him.

For an example of his complaint see:HERE

This isn't an isolated post as he's banged on about this many times in the past.

He is a very good musician being accomplished in playing several instruments. He has a 'band of bothers brothers' to play with:

plus his son and various other friends he gets together with to dress up as Italian fascists and recreate the early days of WW2 - don't ask.

What I think he needs is to recruit a female singer to draw the crows in like this one:

I KNOW WHAT BOYS LIKE

LITTLE HITLERS

"LITTLE HITLER
A self-important person who wields a small amount of official authority with despotic zeal"

 - The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English

I used to disparage tennis club committees because of the Little Hitlers who seem to gravitate to these and swore to never join one.

I do belong to a casual weekday tennis 'club' but fortunately there is no committee and no meetings where arguments can arise.

I recently joined (and later resigned from) a local association which although it spent a lot of time on mundane matters wasn't run by Little Hitlers. I resigned for another reason.

I joined a bowling club last year and this year (unrelated) it is going through some problems of financial management and funding. There is a Little Hitler at this club who definitely fits the definition above. At a special meeting that was just held though he wasn't in attendance so might be getting the old 'heave-ho'.

A community club I belong to, sort of like a Cosmopolitan Club has an AGM coming up next month. Yesterday I received a lot of emails - a couple from the officers of the club desperately trying to explain their recent actions (kind of like Donald Trump trying to weasel out of his Helsinki press conference remarks):

and others from disgruntled members who are having problems with the club and who are calling for impeachment of the president and the governing committee. It's going to be a doozy of an AGM. I think I'll go to watch the fireworks. Last year I was tempted to put my name forward for the committee but am now glad that I didn't do so.

The golf club I belong to obviously has a committee and being golf this has the usual blowhards and I'm sure some Little Hitlers. I don't get involved preferring to just be a casual member who plays a few solitary rounds.

Life's too short to get involved with officious little organisations which spend an inordinate amount of time in making up silly rules.

THURSDAY EVENING

Ring ring ring ring ring ....

ME:     Hello

RICHARD:     Mmmbrrkwrrfffbbubble

ME:    Hello. Who is this? Hello

RICHARD:     Mmmbrrkwrrfffbbubble ffkkk fica nonloso urrp!

ME:   Richard? Is that you Richard?

RICHARD:    Mmmm .... si si  'sRishard here.

ME:    Oh. Is everything OK? Where's Shelley?

RICHARD:    Ummmmm .... Mmmbrrkwrrfffbbubble

ME:    Have you been drinking chardonnay?

RICHARD:     Hee hee heee ..... Mmmbrrkwrrfffbbubble

ME:    Hold on a minute I can't understsand you ..... I know .... wait there.....

Grabs a bottle of Pinot Noir and quickly guzzles some

RICHARD:   Mmmbrrkwrrfffbbubble    Sh Sh Shelley? Gone to bed mmmbrrkwrrfffbbubble

ME:   What? It's not even 7PM yet. What's going on .... hold on

Takes another drink

RICHARD:  Ummmm yummm chardonnay yumm

ME:  Are you pissed up? I hope that you're drinking a good chardonnay or at least one with a label

RICHARD:  Wassup with Robert? Rob's gone again. Mmmbrrkwrrfffbbubble

ME:    Hold on .....

TAKES ANOTHER BIG DRINK

ME:    Ummmmm errrrr I dunno yer should getta hold offhim to see what's going on ....


RICHARD:  I tried but he doesn't answer  and he's canshelled hish posts (hic)

ME: Hold on .....

TAKSH ANNUTHA BIGSH DRINKY POOS

ME:  Mmmbrrkwrrfffbbubble ffkkk fica nonloso urrp!

TREVOR NOAH - NELSON MENDELA

Trevor Noah is one of the best commentators on USA political and social issues and, as a South African he is well qualified to provide a light-hearted snapshot of Nelson Mendela's life:

FEELING GUILTY

I hate to say this but in a way I sympathise with Robert and his hatred of retirees and beneficiaries and the handouts that they receive from the government - interpreted by him as coming directly out of his hard earned wages. Robert feels hard done by forgetting of course that in a few years he will be a retiree and beneficiary and will have his snout in the trough as well.

When I talk to The Old Girl each evening (when she's in Auckland) she asks me how my day has been and I recount my experiences of walking, kayaking, golfing, playing bowls, playing badminton or playing tennis. I actually feel a bit guilty about this and feel obliged to throw in some anecdotes of doing gardening, mowing lawns, cleaning the house, doing house repairs or being involved in community projects.

Why is this?

I've worked long hours for most of my life and have held responsible positions - but I still feel guilty at now doing nothing and The Old Girl working long hours and bringing in most of the money. Admittedly she enjoys working as she has a good job that she does well and is very respected in her profession but I'm looking forward to the time that she can 'hang up her boots' and we can be a doddery old couple together.

*****************

For Robert I can happily report that although I played tennis this morning I filled in the afternoon doing more tree trimming and felling along with some gardening as it has been such a lovely day - warm and sunny with no wind. I can also report that at tennis, as I was favouring my left knee which has torn ligaments I put too much pressure on my right leg and managed to twist the ankle which is now swelling up.

I'll probably, under interrogation have to report this to The Old Girl who is still in Melbourne and who has an uncanny ability to suss out anything I've done or am up to. She will give me a bollocking for playing tennis when I have the knee injury and will feign lack of sympathy.

This hopefully will negate some of the guilty feelings.

MY TRIP

THIS TRIP WAS JUST WONDERFUL - TREMENDOUS - REALLY GREAT

Well I'm back from my trip to Melbourne for the weekend.

Melbourne's a great city which I've admired for many years first going there in 1970 at the end of secondary school where I spent three glorious weeks. I was staying with my older sister who moved to Straya in about 1968 and has never been back to NZ. Melbourne in that summer of 1970/71 was exciting for an 18 year old with the music, drama, film, political activity and the remnants of the free-love hippie era still abounding overwhelming me.

COME BACK GAIN

My sister played in a band and lived in a big communal-type house that was pretty eye-opening for a catholic educated St Pat's secondary school boy I can tell you. What I've discovered over the years and the many times I've revisited Melbourne is that the city still retains the bohemian, art-culture identity in the way that in New Zealand, Wellington does.

Flinders railway station

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I FLEW IN THE BIGGEST PLANE - THE BIGGEST EVER

NO, NOT THIS ONE

.

THIS ONE - AIR NEW ZEALAND's DREAMLINER

I had the best seat ever. I chose 35H as it has no seat in front of it and has excellent legroom (see star in diagram).

As a retired worker I didn't have the privileges afforded to ex schoolteachers who seem to be able to fly Premium Economy and so I flew Economy - steerage in old school vernacular. By choosing seat 35H though I got that all important legroom.

******************

TREMENDOUS PEOPLE THE AUSTRALIANS - TREMENDOUS. I GOT ON REALLY WELL WITH THEM. THEY LIKED ME

The Old Girl and I had a great time dining out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings finding some excellent restaurants and wine bars. We were staying in the central city near Chinatown and it was an easy walk to wherever we wanted to go. Melbourne central city is laid out on an easy to follow grid plan which, if you've memorised the names of a few major streets means it's almost impossible to get lost.....


..... I did get lost on Friday afternoon though and had to ask for directions. When I pulled a map out of my pocket while standing at the intersection of Elizabeth street and Bourke Street I somehow unknowingly pulled out the hotel keycard that The Old Girl had given me and it fell on the ground.
It was in a cover printed with the hotel name (Mantra on Russell) that the hotel staff had written the room number on for me. I discovered the loss when I got to the hotel and guessed at how I'd lost it. I quickly returned to the intersection which was about a 15 minute walk away and lo .... there it was still lying on the footpath. I was relieved at not having to explain to The Old Girl why our hotel room had been robbed or at least not having to confess to losing the keycard.

On Saturday we went to the Flinders area which is  Melbourne's cultural centre with the galleries, theatres and opera house are located by the river. It's a great walking area with the backdrop of the city's skyscrapers seen beyond the Yarra river.

At the National Gallery of Victoria we went to some free exhibitions including the excellent Lisa Reihana installation which we had missed when it was at the Auckland museum because we were living overseas. This is a very special work, see:

IN PURSUIT OF VENUS

On Sunday we re-visited the National Gallery of Victoria to go to the MOMA exhibition.

What's not to like about seeing an encapsulated history of modern art? Fantastic! The best!

I particularly like this record cover art of a Clash poster from 1979:

The message is prescient as it made me think of that goof Trump and his current behaviour.

Of course looking at art is a valid way of looking at naked women without being called a voyeur:

NOT LIKE THIS!

LIKE THIS.

*****************************

SHOPPING - TREMENDOUS SHOPS - THE BEST

Walking around on city streets is hard on the feet though .......

........ So I bought a pair of comfortable shoes. Puma running shoes. Blue ones (not suede):

We lounged around the hotel a bit as well. The Old Girl is staying in Melbourne for a month on a work project so she had a really comfortable and well-appointed hotel room. It's a bonus when travelling to have somewhere nice to 'veg-out' in between activities.

I was able to watch the live final of the 2018 World Cup on Monday morning. What a great game - the best!

This hotel room had a rather strange and scary lamp in the lounge which would have been well suited to the National Gallery of Victoria.

**************************

On Monday The Old Girl went to work and I filled in time before going to the airport in the afternoon. One of the places I went to was the Old Melbourne Gaol where Ned Kelly was imprisoned and hanged.

It's a great tour in a very sad place. I was able to go in to the cell where they had Ned - the one where the photo below was taken:

NED KELLY

The hanging platform on the second floor is still there and looks just like this painting:

I didn't feel all that sad for Kelly though as some misguided people do. He and his gang were murderers and terrorised the Victorian area for years. My great -great - great aunt was one of the hostages at Glenrowan who were held by Kelly and his gang.

I looked at the list of people hanged in the gaol from 1842 to 1967, see:

and was surprised at the absence of Prowses!

In 1860 there was a John McDonald hanged for murder though. I think that he is a distant relative of mine. The McDonalds settled in Victoria and a lot of them farmed at Tullamarine - the land subsequently sold to build Melbourne Airport.

******************

In all I met a lot of absolutely terrific Australians who were all thrilled when I left.