Here’s what I think about the Same Sex Marriage postal survey: I’m voting yes. The reality is that not everyone is attracted to the opposite sex. Who are we to deny them getting married if they want to? Despite how some others paint it, it doesn’t harm anybody else, and certainly doesn’t harm heterosexual marriages. ... [More]
I wanted to reflect on something from our recent visit to Cardiff. Some of central Cardiff is pedestrianised, which is great. Many other areas have nice wide footpaths. It would be near-perfect for walking… if at most intersections the traffic lights weren’t designed to be so pedestrian hostile. It’s as if the traffic engineers either ... [More]
New public transport timetables kick in on August 27th. Last week (or maybe it was the week before), PTV released details, including full timetables for the routes affected: Metro: More trains at peak times V/Line: More choice with more services Altona Loop users rejoice! (A bit) There will be no more Altona Loop shuttles. Weekday ... [More]
Eagle-eyed readers would have noticed I’ve put in a new blog template. The intent was to provide more space for photos and table data. The old template (and most like it, in fact) squash them up even when displayed on a big desktop screen. See any problems? Leave a comment. Also, I’m interested to know ... [More]
A short break from posting my holiday blogs… From today, smoking bans have been extended to include the entrances to most government buildings, as well as outdoor dining areas. This is all good. We’re way behind the other states on this. It’s about time non-smokers, who make up the vast majority of the population, had ... [More]
Just back (yesterday) from a three week trip to the UK and Belgium. Hello Melbourne! I'm back. Did you miss me? You're looking good today! pic.twitter.com/U45oRMnrrv — Daniel Bowen (@danielbowen) July 24, 2017 Apart from seeing family, we visited Cardiff, Bath, Penzance, Brussels and London. In summary? Had a great time! As you can see, ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 7/11/2017 We’d booked with Singapore Airlines, so unsurprisingly our stop-off back from Europe was in Singapore, where we landed at 6pm local time. Our connecting flight wouldn’t leave until 2am, so I decided to see if we could leave the airport for a few hours and have a quick look around the city. ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 29/10/2017. Before we headed back to Australia, one more day in London to explore… at least for most of us. Three of us were catching an evening flight, but M had to head back 12 hours earlier, departing on a morning flight. I walked her to the station and helped her (and her ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 21/10/2017) Our second last day in London. While the others had breakfast, I ducked out of the flat to try and find a post office, as I’d neglected to give one of my relatives a souvineer from Australia, and thought it best to mail it while we were still in England. The nearest ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 1/10/2017) Our mission today was to get locked up in the Tower Of London. Oh, sorry, I mean to see the Tower Of London. We headed on the Tube to the Tower. Tickets booked in advance the night before meant we could bypass at least one of the queues, but it was still ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 29/9/2017) Good morning! It was garbage day in our street in Chiswick. As usual, you notice the little things that are different from home. In the London Borough of Hounslow, the garbos (what’s the local term? Not sure) don’t have an arm on the truck that grabs the bins; they have to manually ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 21/9/2017 Time to head back to London for the last few days of our holiday. We packed up our stuff and left the Air BNB flat. A word about the flat. It had been chosen for its location (walking distance to Brussels Midi/Zuid station), which along with the price, which were its best ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 18/9/2017) Monday! Our last full day in Brussels, and also a day when, generally, most museums in Belgium are closed. It was raining in the morning for the first time on the holiday, apart from some drizzle in Penzance. We got a little wet walking down to the Metro, and decided to use ... [More]
This in the Herald Sun a few weeks ago: Melbourne traffic congestion on par with world’s biggest cities like London, Rome and New York (paywall): TRAFFIC congestion in Melbourne is on par with New York and could rival the world’s worst cities if nothing is done to combat the problem. Figures supplied by Tom Tom ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 15/9/2017. We headed back to our Brussels Zuid/Midi Station, wary again of infestations of pickpockets, but again seeing none. Seriously, I was doubting the numerous reports of this — either they’re invisible to me or they simply aren’t there since the military and police have moved in following recent terrorist attacks. I bought ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 7/9/2017 I was starting to get more comfortable in Belgium. It was getting easier as we realised how many people spoke English (most of them) and as I picked up a few words of French. We had worked out a few more things to do while in Brussels – and on this Saturday ... [More]