Aack - where does the time go?

I just don't seem to have time to blog anymore - it seems as though the spare time that I used to have is now taken up with the gym and being online with J in the evenings as Germany wakes up.

I've been taking a few pics of the goings-on around here and have to get them up at some stage. Early tomorrow, I'm flying up to the Gold Coast where J and her sons are joining me, so we'll be in the same place again - yay!

The balloons are now in the sky at about 7:30am - a more civilised time than 5:45am during the middle of summer.


Alas, this also means that autumn is upon us, and currently the Melbourne temperatures are fluctuating between 16degC and 37degC during the day. It can't make up its mind.

We've been having some brilliant apocalyptic sunsets. Few examples here:


Cunard's new ship, the Queen Victoria, came in the other day.
She attracted huge crowds down to Port Melbourne, especially when she sailed out under a fireworks display. The retiring Queen Elizabeth 2 followed a few days later on her last voyage into these waters before being put to use as a hotel in Dubai. But the rest of those pics will have to wait for another day!

It almost feels like Dubai as we have (only one!) dredge from Royal Bokalis Westminster in Port Phillip Bay.
The Queen of the Netherlands is here to deep dredge the shipping channel so that a bigger class of container ship can sail into the port.

There's been a lot of opposition to the dredging with court injunctions trying to stop the action, but it continues. A lot of local people are upset that it could pollute the bay and damage the marine life.

Jeez - they would go ballistic if they could see what's happening off the UAE, where the whole sea bed is being sucked up for miles around to make new islands! At least here, it's only in the shipping channel.

More later when we return to Melbourne from Surfers Paradise in about 12 days.

Be good while we're gone!