Saturday 26 January 2013

The Birthday Boy

Here he is, looking as proud as punch. Simon's father is the main reason we went to Australia in November. He turned 80 years old and the family organised a party. Simon's brother Jon arranged for Ernie to arrive in style, in this classic Rolls Royce - something on every East End boy's wishlist.

Today is another anniversary -- Australia Day, and Ernie is a perfect example of those intrepid spirits who left their country of birth to make a better life for themselves and their families in Australia -- exactly the sort of thing Australia Day celebrates.
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The blog header for today is a photo of the Warrumbungles - we selected this photo to be the banner before the bushfires that devastated the area last week. We wrote about the fires here.
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Weather news: We woke up to 2cm of snow this morning. Simon has been out sweeping the street.

5 comments:

lejardindelucie said...

J'ignorais cette célébration.
Nous avons ressenti en voyageant en Australie, un enthousiasme, une ouverture d'esprit, une énergie et une curiosité qui nous ont enchanté.
Bravo à votre parent qui représente si bien l'esprit de cette région.
Bonne fête de l'Australie!

Tim said...

Has he got a portrait in the loft... he looks younger in this picture than when he was over here...?
Or is it the Rolls effect?
Great pic... two classics together?
One of these can be got for the cost of a new car in the UK... can't be run for the same money tho'... hence their poor second[third, fourth, fifth?]hand value, I suppose.
Still great engineering!!
The other made himself... for 66 years of his life at least!
Looks like his engineering is pretty good, too!
Happy Australia Day... make some Anzac bix [I know it isn't the right day... but any excuse for homemade Anzac bix will do... like waking up to snow!?]

Aussie in France said...

Happy Australia Day! We're due to celebrate an aunt's 80th birthday on our next trip to Australia in January 2015. They live on a sheep property. I just hope the temperatues (and bush fires) stay away that year!

Niall & Antoinette said...

Happy Australia Day :-)
Saw the flooding in Queensland on the news last night. Hope it isn't affecting any of your family/friends.

Susan said...

Merci, Lucie.

Tim: Anzac bix are always a good thing. It's a nice photo of Ernie, isn't it?

Fraussie: Same to you :-) January on a sheep property -- you'll just melt!

N&A: Thanks! I spoke to my parents yesterday and they were expecting a lot of rain. They said it is undoing some of the repair work still ongoing from the last flood, but the authorities were more prepared this time, and were lowering the levels of the big dams in a controlled way.

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