Bilbies Banter

In yesterday’s Blog I said that on the morrow we would be going to Anglesea Abbey. However, as the “morrow” was Mothering Sunday it was decided that maybe it wasn’t the best day to visit the Abbey, so instead we went for a drive in the countryside and finished up at Long Melford for a drink at the pub (The Crown). We have certainly hit the jackpot in relation to the weather, as we have been enjoying magnificent sunny days with blue skies. The days, while sunny are cool. Today’s photo is of the crooked house in Lavenham - built in the 1300s. It is understood to be the inspiration for the song “There was a crooked man … and they all lived together in a little crooked house…”  This morning we are sorting out the final details of the cruise which the 4 of us are doing together in May. After lunch we drove out to Anglesey Abbey which is near Cambridge. What a beautiful estate with a magnificent garden. We spent several hours wandering around and admiring the glorious flowers in bloom. O...

Today’s photo was taken at Ely Cathedral when we visited there on Friday with my cousin Tina and her husband Graham. Friday was our second day and Tina and Graham took us to Ely where we walked around and were amazed at the Ely Cathedral which dates back to 1080 after William the Conquerer finally defeated the local armies. There had been a Saxon Church on the site dating back to 673. There is still the base of a Saxon cross on display at the Cathedral. We also visited the home which had once been where Oliver Cromwell and his family lived. On Saturday, Tina had organised a family lunch for us and it was a jolly and noisy time with much chatting and lots of laughs. We seemed to have just fitted in so well with everyone. Today is Mothering Sunday and so we are doing stuff about the home, like arranging future places to stay and stuff like that, as most places will either be fully booked or we would be lost in a sea of families enjoying a day out - and especially so today as the skies ar...

We arrived in the UK safe and sound after the long haul as anyone who has done it, knows. It’s a marathon just to get here. We were met at Heathrow by my cousin, Tina and what a wonderful sight it was to see her! Mind you, we were almost the last ones through coz we had been waiting at the wrong carousel for our luggage. Like! What are the chances of 2 Singapore Air flights arriving at the same Terminal at the same time? And Murphy’s Law came in to play for us! We were waiting at the wrong place, weren’t we!?! Today was a glorious Spring day - an azure blue sky and some warmth in the sun, so we decided to make the most of it. Tina and Graham took us into Cambridge Central for a walking tour past some of the major Colleges which make up Cambridge University. In addition, we decided that we’d do the Punt Tour of the Backs - which is along the River Cam and past the backs of the Colleges as well as under the original Saxon bridge after which the City was named - for centuries there was on...

And who in their right minds are not only awake at 5.15am but are packed ready for the Airport, especially us who are retired and might I say, who are classified as elderly these days! And now it’s 7.50am and we’ve already started on the non stop queues that are associated with international travel. Just waiting for our time slot to enter Immigration. However, we’ve been amazed at what the Adelaide Airport looks like - it’s had a total transformation and is up there with some of the best! We could hardly believe it! Well!!! It’s 8.55pm here in Singapore but back in Adelaide it is 11.25pm and we still have another 3 hours before our flight leaves for London. We have, however, spent the last 3 hours in the Ambassador Transit Lounge which has been   an interesting experience at so many levels, especially if you like to “people watch”. For a modest fee one has access to “free” food, drinks and amenities in a quieter environment than normal. It seems to be especially well patronised by ...

Note re Photo: It’s got nothing to do with our trip but we found it yesterday as we were going through some old papers. It is a younger Norm with one of my cousins, Ross Roper, at his home in Hamilton Vic, - and he’s wielding a genuine claymore.  12.40pm: and guess what! Yep! We’ve had another “darn it” moment where if something could go wrong, it will! However, as the offending office is local, Norm hopped in the car and drove there - hiccup sorted and he was back within 45 minutes. We’re really hoping, praying and trusting that everything is now under control. Oh! And by the way, it’s an absolutely glorious day here in Adelaide - azure blue skies and not a cloud to be seen - today’s temperature is estimated to be 27°. An almost picture perfect day!  And at 6.30am we’re not only both awake but we’re both down in the Lounge, as we contemplate the day ahead. What needs to be done and realistically what can we still do within the last 23 hours before we head off?!? We are...

5.15pm: Yay! We’ve packed our cases and then the big weigh moment was upon us! Both cases came in at 18kg which is pretty good for us. We’re allowed 25kg but we have 2 internal flights in the UK whose allowances are 20kg, so we knew we had to keep under that amount. A big tick for us ✅ 3.25pm: and another yay moment. With the help of our friend Ali, we've finally worked out how other people can access the Blog! It took several attempts to get it right but finally we've done it. AND what's more, I've worked out how to update the Blog on my phone. It all sounds like it should be quite straight forward and in one sense it is but there's always little hidden secrets lurking in the background that challenge that notion of things being too easy! And so, now I can concentrate on packing my side of the case! We always put our clothes 50/50 in the suitcases, in case one of them gets lost - that way at least we both have something to wear, etc. It's a system that's w...

23 Mar 2025 And I think it’s a “yes” in regards to updating Blogger via my phone! Yay!!! And while I’m here, can I say that we only have 2 more sleeps before we head to the Airport! Not that I’m excited or anything! BTW: I think Blogs are meant to be read and written from the top down. But if you’re reading this then you already know that I don’t always play by the rules - and so my Blogs will always have the most recent news at the top! Like!?! Who wants to scroll all the way to the bottom just to see if there are any updates?!? And then discover that there are none! My next test is to see if I can add any photos to the Blog - so here goes… Well?!? That was a sort of a ‘yes’! But I nearly fell asleep while it uploaded the photo - but it didn’t insert it where I actually specified where I wanted it!?! I wanted it HERE, not at the top of the page!!! Anyway the pic is of us at the recent Robbie Burns night which a small group of friends organised. The criteria was that we each had to wea...