Lest We Forget

Back in high school days I used to march with the school brass band. It was one of the few school activities that made sense to me at the time, and I did it with pride. I didn’t know why I was proud to be there, it certainly wasn’t school boy war heroism. But I had an overwhelming feeling of conviction nonetheless.

Every year the media has to find new angles and stories to get our attention. This year the back-yard make over and ANZAC cake for a Kokoda track digger takes the first place award. Admittedly though, I usually read the newspaper. Our heroes this time were Victoria Cross recipients Keith Payne and Mark Donaldson, and rightly so. The Advertiser ran a pretty good story on what you would call an “ordinary soldier” by the name of Graeme Cornes (who also happens to be an old SANFL legend). We also read about the atrocities committed by ordinary men living in the brutality of war, including the “alarming” court martial statistics from WWII (it says a lot about the general public when the media uses history to shock us).

Last September I visited the Gallipoli Peninsula. I actually paid attention at school when we studied Australia at war, and surprised myself with how much information came back to me. But what amazed me, to the point of being overwhelming, was how small the battle grounds actually were. The battle at Lone Pine cost 2274 Australian and at least 4000 Turkish lives, and the area of the ridge is less than two soccer fields. I could walk around the battle ground faster than I could count to 6274.

Wandering around the cemeteries at Gallipoli I finally realized why I go to ANZAC day ceremonies. For me, ANZAC day is about remembrance: I remember the people whose lives will never be the same again, be they soldiers, civilians or those at home. I attend ANZAC day ceremonies so that we don’t forget the futility of war or the devastation it causes.

Drum Major, Saint Patrick's College Brass Band, Sydney ANZAC Day March 1989, wearing miniatures of my grandfathers WWII medals.

Canada - Random Shots...

I suck at skiing. Going uphill and along lakes is fine. Going down anything steeper than 10 degrees is bad for my freckle, and extremely hilarious for everybody else. I managed to get down the tree-lined trail from Healy Pass with only 2 crashes. Luckily Dan wasn't able to get any of the spills on film.




Skiing is one of the few outdoor activities I like doing when the temperature is 20 below. Craig at Kananaskis Village:


Enjoying sunshine and tucker after 850m elevation gain up Heart Mountain:


Slight problem with the windscreen squeegee:


This VW combi has been sitting in a paddock near Cochrane for decades. Apparently a couple living on the farm back in the sixties got divorced, and all she wanted was the van.

The myth was he built the roof, decking and walls around it, but later filled the van with concrete.

We jumped a fence and hiked up to check it out - there is no concrete, just a few hundred mice. Myth busted.


Thomas' first hike:

The Long Road Home...

For those of you wondering about this picture, it shows Whyalla in the cars rear vision mirror.

We arrived in Adelaide just in time for the second quarter of the AFL Grand Final.The beers were not exactly cold, but it didn't matter - we had made it home on the last Saturday of September.

I went climbing yesterday. It was the first time I've touched real rock in 6 months - unbelievable...Things can only get better from here.

A Trip to Melbourne

We spent last weekend celebrating the Winter solstice in Melbourne. The shortest day of the year is not something I'd normally give any thought, but it was reason enough to head over to Melbourne for an old friend's dinner party.

Dinner was at Fifteen Melbourne, the latest Jamie Oliver restaurant. We had the 6 course Vegetarian degustation menu, and accompanying wines package. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with the excellent food and wine. The cooking shows and Fifteen series on TV had never really got my attention.

Managed to get down to the Burnley bouldering walls on the Friday afternoon, and ran a few laps on the 45 Degree white traverse. My stamina levels were surprisingly good, considering the last time I climbed routes was back in March. Also spent a few hours on Saturday thrashing myself silly on the easier problems at The Lactic Factory - it's such an awesome indoor bouldering venue.