Guard duty on the staircase or is it time for a cat nap?

Test fans: here is Don Bradman's home turf in Bowral.

Hunter street shop windows. It must be Christmas. I'm out of here!

From a tiny island the natives commute by tinny or ferry to meet the train at Brooklyn or to their car to reach Sydney etc

Barge is off to an early start in a wonderful workplace.

Early morn ferry leaves Brookland Brooklyn. That is Brookland Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury.

Here is the submarine Archerfish.  Nobbys in the background. Is the flag at half mast?

Visit of U S submarine Archerfish in 1964.  The wharf would be high above the sub. State Dockyard Newcastle is opposite.

Port of Newcastle once upon a time when people drove around the wharves to have a look. 
Usually, in these particular photos, the pet dog and a few people feature without revealing much at all about the surroundings unfortunately. Who knows what was there just out of view.

Fashion for the day of the agricultural show

Seaside holiday in days gone by. Did the pets go along as well?  Days of fishing and canoeing at Minnamurra - nice sounding name. No sleepy village on the south coast, today it's Bali, Indonesia, at least, for Christmas hols. I must be the only Australian who has never visited Bali which must become wall to wall Aussies who converge over Christmas time. Conforming to resort culture would be one thing but there would be alternatives.  For a complete knockout seen on the 'net are some totally original buildings constructed from bamboo in Ubud.
 As for alternatives there is Mandela's funeral on live tv now, after all there was no one just like him.  Voting in South Africa was a significant landmark I witnessed from afar.      

We always write the date in the correct format! And that makes today 11-12-13.

Fashion. Pearl necklace. Teapot? What about gloves? Another Show Day in the 'bush'.

Sargeant Toohey - according to the back of the photo. Another Irish policeman! About the ring cycle of life, and nostalgia, lodes of which feature in the English show Call the Midwife which in its straightforward and evocative way delivers something past, special and overtaken.   The series always deserved a special mention. It contrasts with the growth we have seen into a juggernaught service. Perhaps it marks the start of National health and social housing and how they began to fulfill the dream of better times for the underprivileged. There was need enought for grand beneficial policies likes those. Seen on ABC TV. Support the ABC!

A carefree expedition to Nobbys when a drama is spied where the beach sands meet the road.  Exceptional numbers of  Shearwater birds have died over much of the east and south east coast.
A major cause: starvation.  The birds have flown a vast distance direct from the far northern Pacific in accord with their annual migration and their life depends on finding food on their return. It is said that their diet of seafoods from our coastal waters is in short supply. Warm currents and wild weather events are likely causes of the shortage.
Experts are figuring out whether all this is within normal bounds.
Biodiversity is crucial for all life and for the food chain to continue. Humans reap the food chain like never before. Preservation of biodiversity is a global imperative. Permit your garden to grow bugs, insects, lizards and snakes - insectacide free! Limit plastic - it fills the oceans - most of it changed to minute forms of plastic.
They say no sardines were found off California this year - if that is to the point.
 

Fashions
Show day in country town was another time snaps were recorded

Fashions.
A visit to Sydney was often captured by a street photographer who mailed the photo back to the home address.

Horseshoe Beach within Newcastle harbour.

What's the technical difference about the Port of Newcastle and Newcastle Harbour. Whatever. The name port is in more recent usage.

Kings street steps. Between a rock and a hard place or take the stairs - up or down.

Brick upon brick and Nobbys signal station. We have a lot to be thankful for. We need to keep things in perspective and cut some slack for the older generations and the retiring age. Not so long ago there was no financial assistance of note to raise children even when families were bigger than nowdays. Childcare subsidies were unknown and doubt those costs were a tax deduction. No first home grant or relief from stamp duty. No paid maternity leave nor government bonus. Superannuation was not subsidised. Power consumption and carbon footprint were unbelievably low. Freeway demand was a non event. Not long ago, prescripton drugs, diagnositic tests, therapy, mental health care and elective surgery was minimal and did not drain the economy in a hugh way and overall the older generation "cost" much less than today. Without illness prevention obesity in the young could lead to a much bigger and costly issue than any from the past. Deafness could increase like never before. Paid employment is fine for the elderly and it is responsible to extend financial independence and extend the retiring age but we need to cut some slack for the generation that is in this transition for they have managed without much of what is taken for granted nowdays.

Another coal ship arrives

Overhead, a chopper returns to base after taking the pilot to meet the ship.

Newcastle and the harbour.

 Newcastle on Pacific.

The road to Nobbys.  Bright and sunny on Sunday. Gloomy, rainy and deserted on Saturday. What a surprise to breech the link and return it to an island again. No, nothing in the budget for works like that.

exxterminate!

Only takes a bit of a stretch

Among any number of old warehouses  here's one in Newcastle that's similar to THE book depository. 

Undiplomacy in bursts of 140 characters. That's the state of play and politicised issues.

Photo: Take the high road or the low road.
Are clues found everywhere? A cyclone (as in weather) is brewing on our northern shores. Why? It is very early for cyclones. The whole country is touched by thunder storms and a big storm has just hit so better shut down

Higher temperatures. A humid steamy environment? Not just on the Paterson River but over the world. Just saying. A global protest is due on the beginning of repeal of carbon trading today. Unbelievable. No alternative policies. Even the Chairman of BHP Billiton says the company publicly advocated for policies such as carbon trading. Ian Dunlop, past CEO of energy giants has had a conversion and is seeking to join the board of BHP in London, today, to keep the board on task with his platform of radical climate action (as reported in SMH)

We can live in hope - cessation of live cattle export. Tit for tat with our northern neighbour. There's a lot of bull. Property near Nundle NSW

BLACK TOTEM II 1993 Brett Whiteley. Dream that Newcastle will hatch into a community with quality of life rather than the brash or the biggest and have sustainability over consumerism.

or is it a nightmare, tempting fate. This is inviting a mega fauna, a giant dodo from the pages of Dr Seuss

www.newcastleproductions.com.au has Trevor Dickinson and special take on simple local sights and individual styled urban features warts and all.

Not refugees on the Hunter. Wake boarders. Tranquil waters last week, risk of minor flooding today as lovely rain continues.
What if an Obama envoy had criticised Sri Lank's record on human rights?  Would our guys get behind the criticism then? Do something notable. "world leaders meet in paradise" (sic)???
It was ill timed.  Our self interested donation of a few runabouts to Sri Lanka. CHOGM became an opportunity to apply some pressure. Too much to expect.
Apart from our uncivilized measures to thwart the refugee how many national enemies are we making among certain groups of people who test the waters. 

A crowd gathered on this rainy Day of action to support action for climate change. One speaker was an academic who was not a quasi climate sceptic - for a change. Strangly, a photo shoot nearby was of maidens of peep show vintage - not that I have ever seen a peep show - until today sort of.

eHealth record.  I'm up for it - good or bad. "Personally controlled electronic health records" organized by the government. Personally controlled - believe it or not. eIllness record more like it.

An old tried and true drug is in short supply around the globe.  Supplies are due, sourced from Germany, I read.    Lots of 400 tablets were the usual number dispensed and maybe that is wasteful and led to the shortage although a dose may be 1 tablet to up round 10 tablets a day.
So, in some other instances where a vital replacement medication is of great importance there would be a problem if supplies failed. Such is life. eHealth to the rescue!   

Interlude at Steiner school. The arts are high on the agenda. Do your bit for NATIONAL DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION. This Sunday 17 November 11am Nobbys Reserve or Stockade, Newcastle. Wear bright heatwave colours

The country is open for business as the 'Bott said.  Well, this charity is open for business regardless of him.

Idle threats from the treasurer, something about a shut down. He is rediculous.

Good bye Rudd. A character study, an enigma who doesn't get much of my sympathy.  A little late for family. Family responsibilities are a constant and go without saying. Turnbull went overboard at one junction in an otherwise neat speech.  Parliament was self indulgent last evening.

Dragons Abreast. All female crew d'oh.