Swings	Climbing ropes

Flying fox

Mid morning, and the street is almost as busy as you will ever see. The Farmers’ Market is in full swing and 27 motor cycles have just pulled up.

It’s been a cold night, huge frost but now the sun is out, sky clear and blue. Snow on the mountains looks fresh and crisp, but without a breeze, the day is pleasant. I guess the air temperature was around 4 or 5 degrees when this was taken at 11 this morning.

The old BP has closed and is being renovated to re-open as a GAS station (Gasoline Alley Services). These pictures show the old BP site as the workmen moved in to remove the old tanks and pumps.

Now, the new tanks are in the ground. No doubt the pumps and signs will follow shortly and the old green and girl on the corner will reappear in orange and black.

  This is just one of the many changes in Main Street, with the footpaths being remade, planter beds established and new plantings in the centre of the road to lift the street’s appearance, and to slow traffic.

A great sunny day, light breeze, temperature just nudging 20, so time for a walk up View Hill.

The picture left shows the view from the car park – looking back towards Oxford and over the Canterbury Plains.

From the car park, the path is an access track, well formed, a few loose stones, a couple of ruts, but easy walking. A gate around 500 metres in marks the true start of the walk.

After another kilometre or so, we took a path to the right to head to Ryde Falls. This track is moderately well formed, but has some areas of slippage and steep sections. Not having walked for quite some time, I found a couple of sections quite hard, but as I walked further, my body became used to the effort.

Just before the falls, you must cross Coopers Creek, it is quite shallow and has a small rock dam that can be negotiated with care.

Sunset over Oxford

The picture says it all.

Six pack of joy

So, there I was, Tuesday night, wandering the aisles of a Supermarket when my eyes went !POP! and almost leaped on on stalks! Sitting on a shelf, all unannounced and very low key were six packs of Coopers Vintage Ale. Wonderful Coopers Vintage Ale.

If you’re a beer lover, dare I say connoisseur, then this is a beer you must try. Deeply rich on colour and flavour it has a very satisfying mouth feel and a lingering after pallette.  From memory, it is around 6 years since Coopers made the last batch of Vintage Ale. I do recall trying to buy some in Adelaide two years ago, even phoning the brewery to be told they had not made a batch in some time and had no plans for one. How pleased I am that someone relented and gave this brew its head again.

Later that day I was able to sit out on the verandah and savour the rich malty flavour of of the ale while watching the sun slowly set in the west. There is no better way to end a day than with a a cold ale, fresh air and a lingering light in the sky.

It gave its all

Every headstone tells a story, of a loved one, of a tragedy or of a life lived well.

And some get me wondering about the story behind the headstone, what lies beneath, if you will.

Headstone of Joseph Weeber

For example, Joseph Weeber, died age 73 in 1916. Whoever erected his stone was obviously expecting Joseph to have company in the grave at some time. What happened to Mrs Weeber? Did she marry again and now lies with her newer husband? Perhaps she moved from the district, or even left the country. Whatever she did, and wherever she went, it seems she did not leave her story with Joseph.

A headstone with more of a story to tell is that of the Watermans.

Frederick Adolphus died in 1906, at the young age of 56, leaving behind a wife, Laura and son Archie. Archie obvioulsy had siblings, as he shares the memorial, but not the grave of his parents and is noted as their youngest son. There is no mention of the siblings,although a search of the cemetery may also unearth their graves.

Archie was kiled in France in 1917, just one more young man (24) sacrificed to that most horrid and squalid of wars. One can only imagine the horror of France and the devestation of his parents when the news was received.

The waterman grave

I had also been looking forward to winter, the shortening days, longer nights and the snow that will soon cover the mountains I see from my home. That was until Tuesday when we had our first taste of the winter to come. 5:30 pm, the wind swang Southerly, the sky deepened and became brooding over the Port Hills and I began to feel a chill through my body. The cold lasted throughout Wednesday, and on rising Thursday morning there was a light dusting of snow on the top of the alps.

By evening the snow had melted and Friday revealed another calm and sunny day. Winter is still to come, but right now its Autumn, a time to enjoy the slowing pace of time and life.

Woodpile ready for Winter

Wandered outside, sound louder now, more like a car racing over a gravel road. 

There they were, in the sky, two hot air balloons lifting off from Pearson Park, taking some lucky/brave/foolish explorers to the sky.

A hot air balloon takes off over Oxford