Expanding horizon.

Small steps are important.

Emerald - gem of the hills.

Today we went for another drive up Wellington Rd to Emerald. Tess and Dan came along this time and, after a late lunch at the bakery, waited with us at Emerald station. Puffing Billy, on its last run of the day, arrived precisely at 4:45pm. I think there’s more than one Puffing Billy engine because this one was a light brown or tan colour and I’ve previously seen a green one, or was it black? Speaking of trains and colours, Dan wore bright blue trainers with lovely emerald green laces that happened to match Tess’ emerald green dress.

Snooker.

We played our first-ever game of snooker yesterday. I copied this diagram onto a scrap of paper so, at least, we looked like we knew what we were doing. The table's enormous, the game took ages and we were both tired afterwards. Thanks to a video posted online by a group of 12 year old English girls, we knew how to score the points but not the penalties. It was a low scoring game but there was a winner.

Country club.

There’s a country club near our house. I'm not sure why it's called a country club because our house is in the suburbs and so too is the club. Last week, Ben and I paid the annual fees and, in today's mail, received temporary-member cards. Only after some kind of board approval process will we be granted full membership. The club has many mostly-older members who enjoy a variety of pursuits. There’s a room full of flashy melodic poker machines but they’re of no interest to us. We’re also not interested in lawn bowls, indoor bowls, squash, tennis, golf or darts. They do have two pool tables and two snooker tables which is the reason why we joined. There’s a bistro and bar where full members get discounts on food and drinks. This afternoon we played our first pool games; sipped full-price lemon, lime and bitters; munched on free peanuts and heard for the very first time the raucous sound of a post-game gaggle of lawn bowlsers.

The Z word!

Shaun of the Dead
(web image)

We’ve watched anime, sci fi and adventure films. The latest genre on the kitchen theatre menu has been zombie films starting with 28 Weeks Later and a computer game called The Walking Dead. Not being a fan, it’s taken a while to get used to the gore that horror aficionados seem to appreciate. A few practical lessons have been learned along the way. For example, a wooden stake through the heart is not the correct method of dispatching a zombie and cloves of garlic won’t keep them at bay either. The latest film, which we’ve just finished, was a British comedy-zombie effort called Shaun of the Dead. Though initially unimpressed with the unappealing characters and absurd storyline, Ben suggested I persevere and, after a while, the understated and sometimes ridiculous humour did manage to bring a laugh or two. My favourite moment was when the main characters met another group of people who were remarkably similar. Yes, I know it doesn’t sound funny but, in the context of a film full of unexpected moments, it was such an unexpected moment.

Changing state.

The fatigued and much-travelled Tasmanian number plate has been handed in to VicRoads together with the required paperwork, certification and payment. The red Ducati now has a shiny new Victorian plate on its rear and a faded plastic rego label holder bolted to the frame. Like many other states, Tasmania abolished rego labels some time ago but they’re still required in Victoria till the end of the year.

In other news of the day, Tess’ boyfriend Dan’s Australian citizenship application has been approved. After submitting paperwork, certification and payment; and completing a half-hour general knowledge test in less than two minutes with a score of 100%, the approval letter arrived today. Dan still has to wear his British plates until a formal ceremony takes place after which he can keep the Brit plates and wear Aussie one’s too. Thankfully we don’t have to stick a label on him each year.

Hello world.

A large National Geographic world map now adorns the lounge room wall, just next to the kitchen. It was ordered online a few weeks ago and, for a while, we thought it was lost. Mum is travelling the world today, or a small part of it, from here to Vietnam and returns in approximately two weeks time. It’s becoming a well-worn track with this being trip #3 for the year. We’re planning a small trip of our own, from home to Healesville and back, later in the week.