The best things in life are free!  Some strange examples:
1. Our free health service.

2. Television on Tuesdays with The Young Ones, so old yet back again and unique on ABC 2; Kevin McCloud Grand Tour (silver river, channel 4) on ABC 1 and as well preposterous Big Love (hbo) on SBS One -  all free to air!
      

Have you ever used Newcastle buses? Public transport?  The service is free within the CBD.
Safety tip for seniors: please dip your ticket before you sit down!  Dear little old women, not men, are always featured in the signage. Perhaps women travel by bus more often then men.

Below Bathers Way last week.

The Lister  - a steam driven oldie.
Mr Motor-Watcher observed that the Toyota recall seems to apply to vehicles produced in North America where they have naturally done some of their own thing with the cars.  To overcome trading sanctions against the Japanese, Toyota opened their plant in America and adjusted to suit the American market, where, for example, small cars were not in demand while a Lexus might be more appropriate and the market diversified.  In Australia the small Toyota Corolla had been very popular for years and years then the smallish Echo and so on and Lexus has some followers.

Bathers Way. Walk to Bar Beach and climb up the cliff walk

 

Around the Port of Newcastle. Beyond the clutter is a splendid tall yacht named Squall, round 52 metres long and just as tall and with the flag of Cayman Islands.

 

Around the Port of Newcastle.

 

Around the Port of Newcastle.

Are any internet sites in 3D? I havn't looked. Could an app succeed in conversion of images and along with special glasses create 3D?.
Legislation, to do with the clothing that women shouldn't wear, is tried on in the enlightened E U, so our country is not alone in the area of certain laws and ours act to rule out extreme internet sites. Porn on the internet doesn't exactly jump out at you, but then again, my browsing is not extensive and am not denying porn exists. Unfortunate abuse of the net is in existance.

The Bar Beach car park where European tourists were reorganizing their belongings on their way to far distant Cairns in far north Queensland. The monsoon season or 'big wet' is a feature of tropical Australia and timing is a factor.

The car park above Bar beach. Glorious plans to change the Newcastle beachfront areas are mooted. An inexpert longstand idea is that trees would enhance this 'bald' parking lot, however, trees can be difficult to grow near the sea and could block out the sea-views. Views and tree vandals have been linked.
In the opposite direction was a 1984 Suzuki FR80 - fashions go in cycles!

Warrior maiden as a Valentine? What seems an incongruent exhibit was a laugh, in the middle of the main walkway in Jesmond shopping centre, and you know something, I smiled but don't applaud too much of this in advertising (but love leopard skin prints).

Love and marriage. May happiness be theirs forever. Wedding party just dropped in to the Ocean Baths for photos on the boardwalk - where else? Then whisked away in white stretched Hummer.
Refined yet restrained elegance is so 'Newcastle'.
White strapless gown, de rigueur,  and bridesmaids in solid dark coloured dresses with pure white ribbon ties says it all.

Another ancient wall, Sangdangsansong, near the South Korean city of Ch'ongju.
Care with finer points of pronuncitation is in order, other cities in that area include: Ch'unju, Konju, Chonju and Kyongju. (symbols are carelessly omitted because of my shortcomings with word processing). National parks, historical sites and shrines are dotted all round these provinces.                                                                                                                    

Chinese Year of the Tiger. About to leave the old city walls of Xian is a bus, many of which will be part of the homeward treck by vast crowds at New Year. Some taller buses seemed to be entirely set up with bunks and  considering the very long distances in China, bunks would be the go. 

Was early China and Imperial Rome obsessed with the fence? It is a good thing our local black aluminium fencing was not around unknown in those days.


Post card from 'Imperial Britannia': Walltown  Northumberland. Reconstruction of Roman Wall at Walltown.
Believe this is Hadrian's Wall, built by the Romans, across the width of northern England, and, believe, one end can be seen in Newcastle Upon Tyne. More views of the remaining wall can be seen, for instance, along the crags of the great Whin Sill (interesting new words) 
.From the drawing by Alan Sorrell. Dept of the Environment. HMSO.

Another ATM as 'installation'.

One of the best ever albums was from Santana. Zebop was glorious, so over the top, so expressive. On checking up, there was Rob Thomas, Santana and the hit, Smooth, which was pretty good too, cha cha cha. Yesterday a woman complained to me that she paid $350 for tickets to hear Rob Thomas and the price had just dropped to only $50. Sad on two counts. I could'nt even recall Rob Thomas, did'nt have a clue till I Googled him.

Ride-In banking.
ATM in Hunter Street or Mall or ex-mall.

 

Port Macquarie is fast growing south of Crescent Head and has much more development as well as very good open spaces along the beachfront where a 'learn to surf' had set up. Port has a fair share of monoculture or sameness.

More tourists were seen on location with their Wicked campers.

Tent city and caravans and cabins close to Crescent Head beach. Visitors are 'packed in' during the Dec-Jan holiday season and seem happy without any five star developments (although the cabins are up to date). As usual, any spot right near the waterfront is a draw-card and here they are spoilt for choice. 

This little town remains largly 'unspoilt'. No high rise or parking lots or trendy developments. No monoculture here, it can be found in most other places.  

  

The Malibu Classic event is an amateurs competition for all ages and is big in May in Crescent Head which, I read, in surfing terms, has the best ever right-hand point break. The Malibu or longboard is wider than the shortboard and has a rounded nose. 

Board riders: past the Wicked camper, the Pandanus tree, over the rocks, the sand, and to the waves such as they were on that day.

The tree is probably a Pandanus (or Screw Palm) which, in more resourceful climes, is used for everything, for building, making sleeping mates mats, rain capes, canoe sails, bags etc.

The large fruit, round and about 20cm across consisting of nuts segments, is used for food, and the best choice depends on local knowledge, (like, check whether it is safe to eat), the flesh is used for soups and saucers sauces, or fruit is heated over a fire or in a stone oven, and juice is strained out from the seed by squeezing it between the hands.

Or can be smoked cured and kept for many months and stored in the ceiling for example. In traditional cultures, this food was important in tropical high altitudes where other crops did not do well.

 

View to the left of yesterday's photo with more of the small town of Crescent Head where a prominent area remains casual, green and free of buildings and available for sport and for holiday makers while streets and housing and small village are a tiny bit futher inland . 

 

At Crescent Head

Sydney's turn is here for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The pageant was last seen in the 'colony' in 2005.
Tattoo:  a signal on a drum etc, at night, for soldiers or sailors to retire to their quarters;  an outdoor military pageant or display. From Dutch taptoe, lit., the tap (is) to, i.e. the taproom is shut. (From Macquarie Dictionary)
Tattoo: the act of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures. Earlier tattow, from Polynesian tatau.(From Macquarie Dictionary)
Post card: A pipe band in Princes Street. Edinburgh. Taken long ago. 'A view of the world famous thoroughfare from the North British Hotel.  In the forefront is seen the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band on the march.  Prominent in the picture is the Scott Monument'.

Sand surf swelter and salty sea smells. Holiday makers take note at hot bread shop near the beachside in Crescent. Sorry no eftpos.  If dripping wet please dry off before entering shops.

Copying how it is done in some overseas communities, baby sleeps in a sling that swings.

 

Wooden poles. Getting down to bedrock, pile driving, footings, yes, this is about building construction. No less than two poles, probably, one after the other, are hammered down a long way to reach bedrock. The area near The Junction was a swamp, they say, and I seem to recall it was once said a river estuary was in the vicinity in ancient times.
 Another school building. Is it part of the program called 'building the eduction revolution' which is a big investment from the Australian government and is for economic stimulus and job creation in the construction industry.

 The property has the ubiquitous black fence, they are all the same all over the place, so the fencing industry is the best industry to be in, for fences are the answer to everything. Are they a waste of the stimulus funds? At the weekend sadly I heard about another breakin at a school and I bet the school is well fenced.