Suzanne Bowditch's Blog, page 29

Thought for Today – 25 September

Great thought for the day

Ned Kelly’s last Stand

The journey continued southward, climbing over high winds and mountains to reach fields of cattle spread out either side of us. We had booked a room in advance at Wangaratta, just 2 hours north of Melbourne. After spending a comfortable night at the motel, a short drive took us to Glenrowan, the place where the outlaw Ned Kelly was finally caught. It was easy to imagine the time of Kelly (late 19th century) as the buildings had remained the same; perfectly preserved for us tourists. We parked up across the road from the Post Office and looked upward, where a giant statue of Ned stood, in full Armour, holding a rifle, with a pistol in his pocket.

Ned Kelly: Well prepared for battle!

Photographs duly taken and a visit to the souvenir shop (where you can get t shirts, tea towels, fridge magnets, you name it; all with a link to Kelly and his gang), a short walk took us over the railway bridge and to the site of the siege, now part of Australian history. This was where the Kelly gang hid, in the back room of Anne Jones’ pub, whilst the police had them surrounded. The pub has long since gone; burnt down on that very night, and all that remains is a grassy overgrown lot. BUT there’s a boulder to mark the entrance to the pub, plus a plaque and a map of the pub layout. With some imagination, you can easily find yourself cowering in Anne’s pub whilst the police shots rang outside….We walked towards the now infamous railway crossing, where a police post marks the spot where a pistol was found…its all quite eerie, knowing the drama that occurred at that patch of grass

Kelly survived the siege, but was caught that same day and later hanged at Melbourne Old Gaol (November 1880; he was 25 years old). Today he is regarded as a cultural icon; some say he was a Robin Hood figure, whilst others see him as a ruffian and a murderer. Either way, more is written about him than any other Australian.

Next stop – Melbourne

Historic Berrima

On the second day of our trip down to Melbourne, we stopped off at a quaint historic village of Berrima. Established in 1831, its just a couple of hours drive from Sydney, and was an unexpected gem to find.

 

Its website describes it as “the best preserved example of a Georgian village on the Australian mainland,” and it does not disappoint.

We stopped the car and parked up outside a charming row of shops just off the main road. The weather was beautiful and sunny, although starting to get chillier after the Gold Coast heat. After wandering around a little while and taking in the ambiance, we decided to have lunch, and found a quaint cafe that served the best pies! The bakers were baking the pies in front of us – so how could we resist? Delicious.

Next stop, we wandered down a side path and encountered the “Lolly Swag man,” selling sweets, lollies and nick knacks.

A lovely morning spent in another time…..next stop off, Glenrowan and Ned Kelly’s last siege

Elen A Celtic Trilogy – available on Amazon

I’m off to Melbourne in the morning; my son Liam and I are driving down (a journey of around 20 hours). We’ll be stopping off along the way, especially when we get past Sydney and start driving into Ned Kelly country! Love history so much…..:)

So before I go I thought I’d share my book Elen. Originally published as a much shorter version, it’s now available on Amazon with an added 12,000 words.

The link to it is below:

 

Elen A Celtic Trilogy

 The second book, Alice’s Secret is also available here

The Versatile Blogger Award

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Thank you to Meenakshi Sethi for nominating me for this award. Check out her poetry blog  Wings of Poetry at :https://msethi272.wordpress.com/

Rules to be followed:

Thank the person who nominated you
Share the award on your blog
Share the seven random facts about yourself
Tag 10 bloggers with less than 1000 followers and let them know they have been nominated

7 Random Facts about myself:

1.I live in Australia, but was born in Wales

2.My favourite drink is a cup of tea

3 I had three pets as a child, all called Skippy (one dog, two budgies)

4. I spent a whole day sitting on a roundabout when One Direction was in town (my daughter is a huge fan), and we met the Irish one

5. I came second in a writing competition at school, at an Eisteddfod

6. I love chocolate

7.My favourite book is ‘The Signature of all Things’ by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I have nominated two other bloggers for the award, simply because it was difficult to find any with less than 1000 followers! Blogging is a popular pasttime

Positive Thinking Day

Inspirational

RESPECT WORDS, WORDS, WORDS…Quotes for writers (and people who like quotes)

Great quote

Film Review: Don’t Breathe

Photo credit

This week has been a busy one in our household. My son Liam is moving to Melbourne next week, chasing his music career/aspirations. Because he wants to take his car I’m going with him and we are sharing the driving and I’m catching a flight back home. My week has consisted of sorting out clothes, ironing, booking flights, and trying to find a suitable bag for hand luggage for the flight.

So it was a welcome break for me when hubby suggested we go to the cinema

Why I Don’t Write Every Day

Totally agree

Good Night Giggles!

Motivational quotes for the day!