Going for a Walk to Manuka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuka,_Australian_Capital_Territory

We had arrived at our hotel on Thursday, the 25th of August. The following morning we wanted to walk to Manuka to have breakfast there. It was a crisp, sunny morning. We knew, Franklin Street would take us straight to Manuka Shopping Centre, however we chose a different way so that we would have a bit more of a walk.

Before we left, we left this sign outside our door so the staff would know that we weren't in bed any more! — Before we left, we placed this sign outside our door so the staff would know that we weren’t in bed any more!

Our hotel was at National Circuit, Instead of turning right to Franklin Street we turned left.

The following pictures are all taken on this early morning walk to Manuka and back. On the way we noticed some early spring flowers and blossoms. We had breakfast in Manuka at a baker’s shop. We also had a look at the inside of the Catholic Cathedral in Manuka.

Visiting Canberra in August 2016

We could park our car right in front of our room.

This was a rented car. We had to leave our car behind for it needed new spark plugs. We had left home early in the morning. Our plan had been to drive up Macquarie Pass to Moss Vale for breakfast at a cafe in Moss Vale. We found out that Macquarie Pass was closed for maintenance work. So we went up the Jamberoo Mountain Road Pass to the highlands. To arrive at our chosen cafe in Moss Vale via this pass instead of Macquarie Pass took us just an extra ten minutes.

After our very good breakfast in Moss Vale we drove straight through to Canberra where we spent a couple of hours at Parliament House before checking in at Forrest Hotel at around 2pm.

I wrote about our visit to Parliament House here in my previous post:

https://auntyuta.com/2016/09/07/utas-diary-september-2016/

All hotels in Australia provide you with tea and coffee making facilities. We had bought some cake in Moss Vale for our afternoon coffee.

We liked to have coffee and cake in our room.

Top right the air-conditioning kept the room at 22C at all times. We never had to reset it.

When the air-conditioning switched itself on, the air came out really hot. After a little while it would switch itself off again. I thought, this worked really well. I never felt cold in our room, even though the outside temperature would be a cool 5 degrees C during the night.

This is early morning Peter in bed with a cup of tea. — This is early morning Peter in bed probably with a cup of tea.

During the night we topped our bed with a woolen blanket. There were a couple of Australian made woolen blankets in our wardrobe. That these blankets were actually Australian made, was very much to my liking!

Uta’s Diary, September 2016

CANBERRA,

CAPITAL OF AUSTRALIA

FROM THE 25TH TO THE 28TH OF AUGUST 2016 we stayed in the Forrest Hotel that is situated in the National Circuit marked light blue on the above map.

“Forrest Hotel & Apartments

Located in the quiet Canberra suburb of Forrest, this hotel is less than 10 minutes’ drive from Parliament House and the National Gallery of Australia.”

Our room in the Forrest Motel — Our room in the Forrest Hotel

Before we checked in into the Forrest Hotel we went for lunch at the cafe in Parliament House, and we also went around for a bit looking at areas inside and outside the Parliament.

This was a beautiful salad served on barley. — We each had a beautiful salad served on barley.

I had quail eggs with the salad, and Peter had chicken — I had quail eggs and tofu with the salad, and Peter had salad and chicken on barley.

It was nice sunny outside but a bit to windy to be sitting there for our lunch.

Walking around outside, we had this view.

For a while I did sit outside in the sun.

Peter took this picture as I was walking up these stairs.

Lateline Program about Asylum Seekers, Mother Theresa, Interview with Paul Collins

http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/lateline/NC1625H156S00

I just watched the above program.

Here is a reference to an article in THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, written by Michael Koziol:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/dont-use-refugees-as-human-shield-against-people-smuggling-warns-paris-aristotle-20160905-gr9h15.html

SEPTEMBER 6 2016 – 1:23AM

Don’t use refugees as ‘human shield against people smuggling’, warns Paris Aristotle

My thoughts on this:

I think it is really time the public thought about the consequences of our politicians policies regarding our off shore detention centres.

Uta’s Diary, 5th of Sep 2016

Yesterday, on the first Sunday of September, it was Fathers’ Day in Australia. Our daughter Monika had booked a table for lunch at the German Club. The place was totally booked out. I was told, Fathers’ Day and Mothers’ Day were the two most busy lunches. Even for Christmas they do not have that many bookings because for Christmas most families like to celebrate at home.

At the German Club there is now a cafe section. After our rich German lunch we placed ourselves in that cafe section for coffee and cake. Mark, Monika’s partner, gave Peter a special bottle of beer. While Peter was hugging this bottle, Monika took this picture of Peter and me.

On the left is Mark’s daughter Tiana, then Monika’s daughter Natasha, Mark’s mother Merl and Mark.

We have been invited for next Sunday afternoon to Mark’s and Monika’s place for coffee and cake. It is going to be Natasha’s 25th birthday and Monika’s whole family will be there. We’re looking forward to that.

Matthew has been visiting our daughter Caroline in Darwin over the weekend. In a few weeks Caroline is going to visit us again. Caroline may be working in Darwin till February of next year. There are affordable flights available between Sydney and Darwin. Caroline and Matthew do make good use of these! I wonder, when we can see our son Martin, who lives in Melbourne. He was with us in Berlin where we had a really good time with him. We have not seen him since we returned from overseas; that was a couple of months ago. How time flies!

A sustainable urbanised World?

https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-the-biggest-conference-youve-probably-never-heard-of-63499?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20September%205%202016%20-%205547&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20September%205%202016%20-%205547+CID_3ff983a54929ca2b3404d8bc530ad836&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Habitat%20III%20the%20biggest%20conference%20youve%20probably%20never%20heard%20of

The Conversation says:

“Habitat III: the biggest conference you’ve probably never heard of”

I ask myself why on earth have we not heard of this big conference?

The last paragraph in The Conversations’ write-up is as follows:

“Fulfilling our UN member state role in Habitat III is an opportunity not to be missed. Through Quito, we can reinvigorate our national urban policy, build our regional profile and leverage and export our urban expertise. But, more importantly, by taking our seat at the table we will be playing our part in the transition of humanity into a sustainable, urbanised world.”

So,

What is Habitat III?

“Habitat III” is shorthand for a major global summit, formally known as the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, to be held in Quito, Ecuador, on 17-20 October 2016.

http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/explainer/what-habitat-iii

We’ve been in Sydney on Saturday the 3rd of Sep 2016

In Sydney happened to be “The Festival of Dangerous Ideas”. As part of the festival there was a talk in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, and we had tickets for this event. We were sitting very high up in the CIRCLE.

David Marr and Annabel Crabb talked about: "Do we have the government we deserve?" — David Marr and Annabel Crabb talked about: “Do we have the government we deserve?”

After the show we enjoyed taking pictures while walking around inside and outside the Opera House.

Uta’s Diary, 2nd of September 2016

This morning I am trying to read the verses in yesterday’s post:

Passion(which was the last one in yesterday’s post): Nothing (unfortunately totally blurred)

DSCN2124

Change: Nothing (also very blurred)

DSCN2125

“Hope: To hope is to dream of what might or will be
of the possible and the mere possible – hope against hope
To hope is to strive for the best, To build on glimmers of new beginnings
To hope is never to give up. To remain expectant
against hopes dashed, disappointments, falsities.
To hope is to believe there is a way.”

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The following is a reflection by me on that verse about hope:

Do I hope?

What does a woman in her eighties hope for?

Do I dream of what might or will be, of the possible and the mere possible?

I am contemplating for how long I might or will be still alive. Right, it is possible or mere possible that I’m going to live for another twenty years. But I do not think, it is very likely. To expect five to ten more years is probably more likely.

Now, I want to go to the last line of the above verse: “To hope is to believe there is a way.”

Well, I hope there is a way to stay healthy enough so I’ll never need to go into a Nursing Home.

However, no matter how much I’ll try to look after my health to the best of my ability, I do not believe that there is always a way to avoid a Nursing Home.

In case I cannot avoid going into a Nursing Home I do hope that I’ll be able:

” . . . . to strive for the best, to build on glimmers of new beginnings,
to . . . never give up. To remain expectant
against hopes dashed, disappointments, falsities . . . “

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Now to JOY:

“Joy delight and glee – sheer fun – cheers the heart.

To live fully, we should be free to follow our own ideas of joyful existence.
The simplest pleasures, shared joys or extreme gladness can transport us
into other worlds. There, hearts thump, happiness reigns, ecstasy
is contagious and laughter is free. What a lark!”

DSCN2126

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Following is my comment!

I agree with everything that is said in this verse about joy.

I feel blessed for I still have a lot of joy in my life. My joyful existence

does not include gambling, drinking alcohol to excess, smoking, drug taking,

shopping for things I cannot afford. I feel free to follow my own ideas of a joyful existence.

I tend to enjoy simple pleasures. When I am in the company of joyful family and friends, ‘my heart thumps’.

The best company is when I can laugh a lot. How wonderful, that laughter is being had for free!

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I was able to retrieve a bit about Loneliness:

” , , , You can experience the emptiness of being alone,

sense the vastness of this land, feel the solitude:
Loneliness drives people apart or it draws them together in surprising ways.”

DSCN2127

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Devotion, Fear, Thrill and Mystery as well as Eternity,

I’ll come back to these in another post.

I very much like the following words that were printed on a wall in the National Museum:

“The past is never fully gone. It is absorbed into the present and the future. It stays to shape what we are and what we do.”

First Day of Spring 2016, Uta’s Diary

Here in Australia it is the first day of spring today. I just discovered in SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL the following interview:

Expert on MH370 Disappearance: ‘There Is Absolutely No Mystery To What Happened’

Interview Conducted by Marco Evers

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/mh370-disappearance-that-fuselage-is-in-one-piece-says-expert-a-1107149.html#

Some time ago Marco Evers did another interview about the disappearance of MH370:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-captain-bill-palmer-on-fate-of-mh370-a-960464.html

So, what really happened? Will we ever know for certain?

———————————

I want to come back now to some of the verses I saw in Canberra in the National Museum. Before we entered the museum, we asked whether we were allowed to take pictures. We were told yes, we could take pictures, but only for personal use.
Some pictures I took of these verses, turned out all right, others are too blurred. I have to learn to wait for the right moment before I take a picture. I wished, I could do the blurred pictures again! Well, maybe some other time (!).

Uta’s Diary, August 2016

John Lord from THE AIM NETWORK says in his recent blog:

If you want a good read on growing inequality read this:

https://ourworldindata.org/incomes-across-the-distribution/#australia-rising-inequality-but-everyone-is-better-off

I had a look at these data. They reveal a lot about income distribution. Truly interesting!

Peter and I spent a few days in Canberra. We returned on Sunday, the 28th.

Last Saturday we drove up to the Telstra Tower.

We had arrived early when there was still quite a bit of morning fog.

Opening time was 9 am. The lift took us to the top. — Opening time was 9 am. The lift took us to the top from where we took several pictures.

We had some breakfast in the Cafe of the Telstra Tower.

This is Peter writing a Telstra postcard to Caroline and Matthew.

The Telstra Postcard is about to be inserted into the Letter-Box!

Here Peter is near the Entrance to the Telstra Tower.

At about 10,30 we left the Tower and explored a little bit its surrounding and the views towards the city of Canberra. The fog had lifted. There was even some sunshine. The air was fresh and crisp. Temperature had risen to about 8 C.

This is where our rented car was parked.

When we had been arriving earlier in the morning we were just about the only visitors. But now more and more people kept arriving.

Apparently there is a bit of public transport going up here:

Then we drove on to the National Museum.

The National Museum's Loop gets closer. — The National Museum’s Loop gets closer.

This one is about Mystery.

I took more pictures of other verses. I might show them some other time. All these verses made a lot of sense to me. This is why I took pictures of them to remember them. There was for instance more about hope, loneliness and thrill as well as devotion and passion.

Most of the cafe's outside area was under construction. — Most of the cafe’s outside area was under construction.

We just had a look outside, but were sitting inside the cafe for our lunch.

We shared some fruit salad and then shared some lovely fried eggs on barbecued toast. I very much liked this lunch.

Peter had some knee problems and at one stage was limping a bit. One museum staff member noticed it and promptly offered Peter the free use of one of the museum’s scooters. Very bravely, Peter rejected this offer. He just was not inclined yet to use one of these motorised scooters, hoping his knee would soon get better. And luckily, by massaging some relevant pressure points, it soon did get better, and Peter was able to walk around again more freely.

Saturday evening The Museum of Australian Democracy presented
THE HANSARD MONOLOGUES: Age of Entitlement

We had tickets for this very interesting show. The Museum of Australian Democracy is int the Old Parliament Building.

You might like to have a look at this website:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard

The Old Parliament Building at nighttime