Veronika Wild

The Cat and Fiddle? I really wanted to put this in for the children. It is one of the most famous sites in Hobart, especially for the under 10's. It is in the Cat and Fiddle Arcade right in the middle of town and can be reached from either the Elizabeth Street Mall or the Murray Street end near Myer. Unfortunately my own video of this was terrible so you will have to listen to the YouTube version below. But look closely at this image. As my friend Chris pointed out recently, that's not a fiddle as the nursery rhyme says. That's a cello!  In answer to the person who asked on the internet, the arcade opened in 1962, so my guess would be that this moving clock dates from about that time. I still like it.

 It been all systems go since I arrived in WA. ( Not too many regrets about leaving Tas. It rained solidly for the last two days!).  First up when I got here there was an end of term concert with some excrutiating singing and this was followed by a Teddy Bear's Picnic for the younger ones. Mum - to - be was a bit subdued throughout and ended up going to hospital at around midnight, about one week early. The new baby - another little girl, arrived at around 4 a.m. much to the surprise of all concerned. With a birthday celebration due the next day, there was a bit of midnight cake baking and decorating to be done but the Miss newly turned Five, expressed herself duly pleased with the result. The paternal grandparents also arrived.   The Birthday Surprise! In between visits to check on Mum and the new baby, there were eggs to paint  and cards to make and the new bike to ride. Miss Five rides with her new gum boots on a tiara she has made. The girls supervise...

This Mannie and her master Frank whom we met at Melbourne Airport I hear she's a really good listener.... ...and never ever answers back. It seems Mannie and Frank got acquainted while on holiday in Thailand. Frank found himself a little left out when his friend brought along his partner, so he acquired Mannie and learnt to do some braiding. That's the short story as I heard it while waiting to board. Didn't have time to hear the long version. Maybe next time??? PS. Jetstar managed to lose half the pram package, but delivered it to the house two days later.

 It's a real shame to be leaving now. This is absolutely my favourite time of year in Tasmania. Misty moisty mornings, mellow sunshine and clear blue skies, with just a hint of melancholy. In Japan and Korea they celebrate the turning of the leaves and the papers list the places where they can best be seen. I think it's a lovely custom and one we could well implement here. I'm still trying to decide where the best viewing places might be. These pictures were mostly taken in the Sandy Bay area and the Fitzroy Gardens -the little park at the top of the hill, where the nannies of the wealthy used to push their perambulators. St. David's Park Even native trees such as this fig are putting on some colour Tree beside an office building Another The Paris end of Macquarie Street Franklin Square is just starting

I'm heading off to Perth next week to play Grandma for a while. Cheap flight of course and I'm not paying myself, but I'll be watching closely to see if Jetstar is better than Tiger. The last time I flew Tiger airlines their add -on charges made them dearer than Jetstar and I had a big row with them. Anyway, I mentioned this to my ex- sister -in -law and she promptly sent me this. Too true alas! I did ask them if I could get a discount for bringing my own personal flotation device, but I see someone has already thought of that. There are possibly worse airlines than Tiger, that I have not yet tried.  Another clip on the fine art of baggage handling follows. One thing I did rather like at Tiger was the way they had Tiger paw prints all the way out to the shed at the outer limits of the airport where you boarded. Take your lunch. There isn't much to eat out there.

I did promise you some happy news somewhere along the line, about positive ways in which people around the world are responding to straitened economic circumstances, but I have been waiting for formal permission to include a couple of video clips. This has not exactly materialised, but since they are all about  sharing what we have, I'll include them now anyway in the hope that  (a) I will be forgiven and (b) there will be many ideas here which you can utilise. Some, like Couch Surfing are international and very well known.  Others might just inspire you to get a local group going.  My sister put me onto these after they were recently featured on ABC National.  Rachel Botsman who made the videos and co author Roo Rodgers have also just published a book What's Mine is Yours, about this new trend they call Collaborative Consumption. Can't understand it? Go to  http://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_botsman_the_case_for_collaborative_consumption.html for subti...

Oops! almost missed it. One of my favourite days of the year. Haven't prepared any gags like the classic International Spaghetti Harvest Festival once presented by the ABC but I'll give it some thought and save it for next year if necessary. I'll just show you a couple of signs that I have been collecting. They are not a joke, just crazy enough in themselves. I am not sure if Milk Crate is a place or an object but Useless Loop is a very apt name for the road Hey, they forgot mention the sharks! False advertising Where's the tree? Catchier than the usual seatbelt signs You see these a lot. Makes you wonder Garage with Ned Kelly on top at Coolgardie. Ned Kelly was a bushranger. You could say that at least this mechanic is honest Scary Cat Letterbox in Kin Kin, Qld Cow, same place Puffer fish. Competition is fierce in Kin Kin Mixed Messages at Uni Not a joke! This is a black carrot I just bought at Coles. I'll let you know how ...

It's been a bit bleak and rainy here today so I have been looking for some new music. Listening to my old CDs makes me sad. I thought I was onto something when I heard this song on a film the other night.  Alas, it turned out to be from the 1970’s and that the singer had been dead since 1975. I immediately remembered something Imre Salusinszky said way back in January ( The Australian, 5/1/2011) Referring back to his 1980 Diary, he had written: “Wednesday, December 31, 1980. Another year over, and I have realised something odd: all popular music released since January 1 has been absolute crap. I am sure it’s a temporary aberration and the flow of fine music will soon resume. I mean, (imagine the alternative: sitting around 30 years from now and still listening to the music of the 1960s and 70’s!).” Fortunately, I did manage to find one new spark  - Adele , who has a really strong voice. I am also quite partial to Tim Minchin whom I have seen live in Perth and front...