Home Again

Arrived back in this country this afternoon after a month down under. The final three days of the holiday were spent in Sydney being shown around by cousin Gerald. The Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, the ferry to Manly, The Art Gallery were all very impressive.

The weather was very hot for the first two days and we did the cliff walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach (not named after the writers sadly) which was spectacular. This has been made even more interesting by the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition which I think is an annual event. The dramatic site allows sculpture to display their work to the best effect and many of 100 or so work are stunning. Photos of all on the website.

Picture above Simon McGrath's who left the tap running? a comment on a country where weather forecasts on TV often include statistics on the amount of water in reservoirs but also relevant to us all. Below a sculpture - a TV set with rabbit's ears actually - entitled The Best of Perth by the collective of artists who studied together in Perth called k.m.s.e. We wondered about the "meaning" of this work, a dig at the quality of life in WA perhaps.

I was also delighted to meet other relations in the Sydney area and to visit the resting place of my recently deceased aunt who sailed to Australia with husband and children in 1956. Thanks to all who made the Sydney visit so memorable.

Then home by Etihad Airlines. A fourteen hour flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi and an eight hour flight from there to Dublin where it has been autumn and is now winter. Much cooler and wetter (though Sydney had rain yesterday evening) but in a day or two we won't notice the difference.