More or less change

Forever Citroen cars sported a sharp chevron logo. Then the logo became more streamlined. Is nothing sacred?
 Now the logo is very abstract and unrecognizable. The logo changes and the cars become more conforming though the Cactus model has a few unlikely features.
Is it still smooth and comfortable? 
A comfortable ride has something going for it after noticing the rough ride that goes with some cars.
I know a certain medium sized van with a certain wheel base that requires certain calculations to turn and simply drive straight into the parking in a shopping centre and rarely is it just right. A minor problem really.
The massive 4x4 and over-the-top things on wheels put my driving to shame.

   

Retromania

Unlikely yet inventive motor home from the fifties or sixties.  Probably a recent import from the USA of an old model.
The rest of the show room was full of motor homes each with 16 rooms at least.  And two by two trailers unfold to reveal about 10 rooms. Not.

 Tractors  used to launch  boats off the beach. The little town had quite a few tractors. 'Blue bottles' had washed up out of the surf. The long string can 'get you' and is rather painful.

At this very time, President Trump is giving his inauguration speech, his wishful thinking. The speech is odd and weak. No policy on climate change.  Will there be a nasty sting in the tail?

Road Trip

Harvesting was afoot in the 'Bidgee district.  But not by backpackers.
 A Backpackers rate of taxation for fruit picking work is hotly debated.  Farmers depend on the visitors - legal or otherwise - and seek legislation yesterday. Visitors probably gain 'brownie points' towards a visa extension by working in rural areas.
  A grower in the N T relies on a team from Taiwan to pick the Mango crop. No locals prepared to do this work .....the low pay..... the grit....the distance? 
  Complex times.  Exploitation of overseas workers, banning free trade, bringing back the old ways and making things great again is debated. Unlikely to go back. 
Globally, these times could be interpreted as a very slow inevitable move towards more equality and global social justice.

   

  Mystery object.  Polish with a series of fine discs then apply a paint.
  Clear plastic goes cloudy after some time on the car headlights etc.  Are the solar rays more destructive here than in Japan - the origin of the import. The vehicle must pass annual inspection if it is more than several  years old.
 In Japan, summer is so so, one reads, for example, that a national park, will be closed over winter till late April and that is in the warmer south.  Cherry blossoms and plum blossoms mark spring tho autumn would be appealing.  How's the yen holding up?  
  
 

Road trip

Motorhome towing a fully equipped 4x4.

The Indonesian president has cancelled a visit to our shores due to protests and riots at home. Locals are taking exception to Jakarta's Governor and maybe other aspects as well.
Our Dept will notify travellers of oncoming problems and warnings were issued so as to avoid these protests predicted in various cities of Indonesia.
If Mr President did visit our outback he would have seen the sights and seen live export cattle on the road over which he supports a number of demands. Any of our value added aspects are hard to find.  Ban live export!

Expeditionsmobile on Fuso Canter 4x4.  The photo is pale.
 Tourist vehicles are usually more conventional than this personally fully imported model, reminescent of the Dakar Rally.
A search finds that it is made by Woelcke from Heimsheim area which is not far from Stuttgart.
That's in the area of the Romantische Strasse and it would be hard to find a scene less like that delightful region in southern Germany.
All the major destinations in the Outback can be reached by normal two wheel drive on sealed roads. It is a different matter if a car gets off the sealed roads into sticky mud or sand or creek crossings or obstacles requiring high clearance. 


  

A winch at Walka Works as previously shown.
Herringbone gear, of double helical design is seen there.

The logo of the French car, Citroen, is a graphic representation of a herringbone gear.
 Andre Citroen had early involvement in the manufacture and use of the gears in industry and in various early Citroen vehicles. Over time, the logo design has become more abstract.
Innovative far-out features like no other were/are usually offered to the motorist by this manufacturer. 

 Near Maitland, the old steam powered winch of 1910 was used in the construction Chichester Dam which holds the major supply of water hereabouts.

Das Auto.
It could be said that VW has been rather creative in the adjustments they made to the engines if it is possible to look beyond the level of dangerous pollutants and fraud.
Makes for a good chance to buy when the prices fall. After all, complaints are heard about the loss of resale value, not about the release of pollution. Lawyers are ready to sue.

The situation leads to strange thoughts. Who can we trust? The world order has changed. This fraud is not the work of a banana republic.
It is beside the point but the cars are probably quite low emitters as it is and the cars still go as well as ever. And, it is not clear if this country has established car pollutant regulations that relate to this situation.

Motor home rally close to Nelson Bay has many many participants - this might be a quarter of the visitors who have occupied the sport facilities as well as additional marques designed for interest groups, chautauquas and all the rest of it, it is supposed.
It is to be hoped no anarchy arises - these nomad retirees are a force to be reckoned with!
Newcastle has the HQ of the national motor home organisation.

Security is high on the agenda.
All this idle recreation is enough to stress out treasurer Hockey and his side kicks.

The triumph of restoration. Triumph Stag.

Wonder what they do in this workshop?  In Wallsend. Says it all.

After the match, Newcastle Knights, blue and red, won 20 nil, last time. This week a loss with the opposite 2/20. The money behind the team sounded in crisis. Mr N Tinkler. But that was last week The white fence is there to discourage pedestrian crowds from wandering across the road and it works in the main.  In one instance, on another busy road, some elderly and others continued to cross when just clear of the fence and I know of one who was hit a glancing blow by a motorist.
Free trade agreements happen.  Gooseberries or Kiwi fruit from France are on sale in Coles.  Is that how Renault cars are claiming a new share of our market? As they have done forever, on and off, on and off.  However, Renault is tied up with Mack trucks, Nissan, Korea and Eastern Europe for a start.    
 The French Peugeot company, which still has original family member shareholders, is shifting production from France and merged with Citroen a long time ago.  China would be a player overall.   

Travel east for 12 hours or south east for 24 hours till you hit the Pacific. Only by Greyhound will you chance upon seeing a dianosaur. 

After a long time, this big dipper spanned by a bridge over a deep gorge has become less scarey.  On the road again, rainy day, M1 Sydney to Newcastle.

This Australian industry could go a long way.  Forget about canning fruit.  Industrious workers are making tents, campers, caravans and motorhomes of all shape, size and price and were on exhibition over the weekend. The above Trooper seems to be a sturdy rig for off road conditions.
It is in our interests to protect the environment to support tourism and caravaning industry.
As our roads become first grade we are instead taking to bush bashing.  What will be preserved in the great outdoors after terrible drought, heatwaves and dangerous bushfires are our lot. Can we afford outdoor past times with this level of consumption?  Who knows?
If one was to pay $200,000 plus for a caravan type vehicle would they really want to take to the great outdoors and battle the elements.  The motel industry misses out business from the self-contained customers in motorhomes etc. One could travel round Australia in a comfortable car at good speed with good fuel economy and stay in Motels, go anywhere free of towing anything, for less than the cost of a hugh caravan.
Just saying. Since the 1960s, Winnebago Motorhomes have been available and made locally. However, it's strange but they had no connection with Winnebago USA. Fittings etc may have been imported and used. Then it was declared that the name Winnebago should not be used here so more recently the name Avida has been adopted by the manufacturers.
On the road again, below, packing up after the show.

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!

We won't be needing this fully imported fire engine after all!  At this moment it is pouring rain - absolutely bucketing down.  Forgot what rain is.

Doctors have talked about the need for me to have this and that done.  Are they talking through their hat as prime minister Anthony Abbott has recently said about an expert?
Maybe evidenced based medicine is simply not good enough.  What would all those professionals know?
Medical researchers and the body of knowledge represent only one opinion among many others.
I could be like the minister Gregory Hunt and consult Wikipedia - the custodian of real true guidance on medical science.
Despite scholarship and peer review and all the rest of it there is no substitute for common sense and we can pick and choose what to run with.
Medical sceptics, quacks and News Corp columnists are entitled to be heard uncritically in a free society and given equal weight.

All this analogy is rather undermined by the recent Catalyst show (ABC TV) in which questions are raised about Cholesterol levels and accepted approaches. Some of those outside of mainstream have long held disbelief about reduction of cholesterol and see the harmful
ingredients in butter substitutes or margarine spreads as quite a problem.

Ich bin ein Clarence Towner. Das auto. Show and shine motor show around the pub, beer garden and the band played.  All to raise funds for pink ribbon issues.

Coincidence. In a crime story I was reading yesterday Rebus had tickets to Lou Reed.  And the lines were...hadn't listened to him for years ...don't suppose he's learned how to sing in the interim.... Following the concert we were given neutral comments and problems over ringing in the ears.
Ian Rankin. The Falls. 2001 Orion.