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| McLaren Vale Escarpment |
Hello Gail and Jack!
Trust you are both well. Having a blast here in Oz. Up at 7:30am this morning to find Trevor already in the kitchen. I was just preparing my latte (an early morning "homage" to friend Ragin' who always wants to stop for coffee while riding!), when Flamin' joined us. Takes a bit longer for milk to be ready and I was waiting for beaker of it to be frothed by nifty mini-whirlygig, (Whirlygig, another regular cyclist, is always in mind, in spirit if not body!), gizmo attachment that is part of the unit and Flamin' asked me why I was standing around as my beverage of choice was obviously ready. I elucidated the situation but she insisted I was wrong until Trevor gently mentioned that what I said was in fact true. Undeterred, she bulled me out of the way and proceeded to put a fresh cartridge in the dispenser and pushed the button to start the infusion process. Of course, she had neglected to put a bodum under the nozzle so jets of java were fireworking everywhere, Tina's freshly swabbed kitchen floor, (after previous wonderful evening's 65th bash for Trevor), awash now with a tsunami of the finest dark roast! Somehow this was all my fault. The Sisterhood, Always Right, Never at Fault!!! No wonder Trevor was up early, hoping to rid #17 Fairview Park of the Cannuckleheads!
The Goils, with all their newspaper and magazine iPod apps have been keeping The Travelling Gong show reasonably well informed of events back home. Not that their devices would ever be charged if I didn't keep them plugged in whenever we have an accessible power source, particularly when not staying with friends like TNT. Wonder if you'll hear about Sarge's latest RCMP gaff in the Canadian/American media. He was arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour at Trevor's 65th birthday bash last evening by one John Parry, a retired senior SAPOL, (South Australian Police), officer with over 40 years service for arguing with him about the best way to drive to Mornington Peninsula. He handcuffed Sarge and locked him in the shed at the bottom of the garden to sleep off his overhang! If the Brown snakes or red-backs don't get him, we'll head to McLaren Vale around 10:00am this morning!
Hello Goils!
Trust you are both well. Gather you two might be reminded just how expensive it is to live, Ayn with Los Horridos back at home for a week, Chloe without her parents to foot the food bill!
We left TNT's place at around 11:00am and due to heavy city traffic, exacerbated by road work, didn't actually make it to McLaren Vale until just after noon. Checked into our caravan park, unloaded car and then went into town to scope bike rentals. I decided to pay $40 for my bike so that I could ride this afternoon and all day tomorrow. Flamin' and Sarge will pick up their bikes tonight at 6:00pm, just before Oxygen Cycle closes so that they can ride around 7:30am tomorrow morning when it is cooler. Minimum $15 for three hours, $5/hour thereafter. Not sure when their meter will start ticking. They wanted to go to the beach for an hour or so, (Apparently the best "unclad" beach in all Australia is not far from McLaren Vale!), and then return to pick up Cora Lee and do some wine tasting. She was content to sit by pool and read and rest her foot.
I rode the short distance from town to our caravan park and changed into cycling gear and then headed south to smaller town of Willunga along the hiraz Trail, a simply marvellous dedicated, bitumen bike path, through outskirts of McLaren Vale and then vineyards. Gorgeous views of the hills surrounding the valley floor. Very green here, more so than further north in Clar and Barossa. Once I hit Willunga, 7K, I cycled up and down the main street and then retraced my steps back towards McLaren Vale, doing a short dipsy-doodle to the right along an aunpaved road for about half a kilometer. According to a posted map it was another bicycle/walking route but I didn't pursue it once it met a busy road. (Will take a look at some of the maps we picked up at the Tourist Info Centre we stopped at upon arriving in town when I'm back from ride and see if it offers a longer route.)
Back past caravan park and then on to the Tourist Info Centre, where I am currently sending this message from, using the free WiFi, sipping an iced late! Unfortunately, our caravan park doesn't have Internet access so will have to drown my sorows in local hootch! Once I've sent a few more messages I plan to cycle a bit further north, again following the Shiraz Trail for a bit and then will branch off to the west to take a look at Moana Sands Beack. Apparently, there is an esplande there, with a separate bike path, alongside, so it might be a pleasant ride tomorrow morning with your parents. Not sure what plans are for dinner. Gang may have scoped a restaurant from talking to locals while tasting. Otherwise, we often pick up something at butcher's and green grocer's and prepare our own meal in kitchen and/or communal bbq. Latter is most enjoyable as you have a chance to meet other people and no corkage for wine we drink!
Fondestos and Cheers, Dad!
HI D,
didn't save message, but i'm pretty sure it was Bill Lester but oh well???
will call Branko, haven't yet, whats the deal with bag of stuff for him??? beer is for him and there is something for someone else??
have not been able to catch Bernie so no news on the cheque. love you
Hi Maggie and Chloe!
Thanks for the positive criticism but "Dear Reader" is a convention that early writers of the novel employed and I like it! Phone number for Branko is in address book on phone under Ragin. Ask him about printing from laptops as I'd like that function to work. Don't know any Bill Linster. Could it be Dempster of Gross? Is message still in voice mail? Also, please ask Bernie, across the hall, if he knows anything about our cheque for $750 for Strata Council. Your Mother put it throught the mail slot in room down hallway from us before we left but cheque has not yet been cleared by bank. Let us know as soon as you can.
Had a wonderful time in the Clare Valley, Dear Reader!
Hi again Prince Valiant!
Can hardly wait for the Cross-Canada Diaries! Will be a rand trip with Princess Megan. Will she ride in the vack seat and wave at the locals as you pass through North Bay, Sudbury, Blind River, Marathon and the like? Hello to Clan Darrow, Big Bad Dennster, Roger the Dodger, et al!!! All the best with your studies for finals. Buona Fortuna with exams you take. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hello Ron!
Enjoyed the Edmonton snowscape! Quite a marked difference from SA! (Couldn't open your zip file on my iPad but will try to do so when next I have access on a laptop. All the best. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi Michelle!
Greetings from wine country, about an hour south of Adelaide! Obviously, we won't be at the Alumni event as Corinne and I left Vancouver on March 5th for a week in Hong Kong, then on to Sydney for a week. Met close friends in Melbourne and have been travelling with them ever since, in a rented car. Will make our way to Brisbane and then fly from there to Cairns, then Darwin and then back to Sydney. On May 11th we fly to Japan for three weeks before returning to Vancouver on May 31st. Trust you are well. Best wishes to others at the gathering. Hope all goes well. Cheers, Patrick!
Hi Patrick:
Oh, I do enjoy these missives from the travelling duo. Sigh. I'm also very jealous.
Have a wonderful time, say G'day for me, and dip a toe in a jellyfish-risky place just because life is short.
Cheers to Corinne! And I'll forward along to the executive committee with alacrity. Michelle
Avulse yourselves from your inebriated ways!
Hello Ron!
Enjoyed the Edmonton snowscape! Quite a marked difference from SA! (ouldn't open your zip file on my iPad but will try to do so when next I have access on a laptop.) We left TNT's place at around 11:00am and due to heavy city traffic, exacerbated by road work, didn't actually make it to McLaren Vale until just after noon. Checked into our caravan park, unloaded car and then went into town to scope bike rentals. I decided to pay $40 for my bike so that I could ride this afternoon and all day tomorrow. Flamin' and Sarge will pick up their bikes tonight at 6:00pm, just before Oxygen Cycle closes so that they can ride around 7:30am tomorrow morning when it is cooler. Minimum $15 for three hours, $5/hour thereafter. Not sure when their meter will start ticking. They wanted to go to the beach for an hour or so, (Apparently the best "unclad" beach in all Australia is not far from McLaren Vale!), and then return to pick up Cora Lee and do some wine tasting. She was content to sit by pool and read and rest her foot.
I rode the short distance from town to our caravan park and changed into cycling gear and then headed south to smaller town of Willunga along the hiraz Trail, a simply marvellous dedicated, bitumen bike path, through outskirts of McLaren Vale and then vineyards. Gorgeous views of the hills surrounding the valley floor. Very green here, more so than further north in Clar and Barossa. Once I hit Willunga, 7K, I cycled up and down the main street and then retraced my steps back towards McLaren Vale, doing a short dipsy-doodle to the right along an aunpaved road for about half a kilometer. According to a posted map it was another bicycle/walking route but I didn't pursue it once it met a busy road. (Will take a look at some of the maps we picked up at the Tourist Info Centre we stopped at upon arriving in town when I'm back from ride and see if it offers a longer route.) Back past caravan park and then on to the Tourist Info Centre, where I am currently sending this message from, using the free WiFi, sipping an iced late! Unfortunately, our caravan park doesn't have Internet access so will have to drown my sorows in local hootch!
Once I've sent a few more messages I plan to cycle a bit further north, again following the Shiraz Trail for a bit and then will branch off to the west to take a look at Moana Sands Beack. Apparently, there is an esplande there, with a separate bike path, alongside, so it might be a pleasant ride tomorrow morning with your parents. Not sure what plans are for dinner. Gang may have scoped a restaurant from talking to locals while tasting. Otherwise, we often pick up something at butcher's and green grocer's and prepare our own meal in kitchen and/or communal bbq. Latter is most enjoyable as you have a chance to meet other people and no corkage for wine we drink!
Discovered, upon return, that Goils had picked up a variety of cheeses and spreads and crackers so we nibbled on those as we sipped: Sevenhill 2011 Inigo Chenin Blanc, 12.5%, Claymore 20011 Joshua Tree Riesling, 11.5%, (This was only white I tasted as my loyal friends had finished the CB by the time I was back from my ride!); Sevenhill 2010 Inigo Grenache, 15.5%. We opened the latter to fortify ourselves for the half hour walk into town and to The Barn, the spot the Threesome had made a reservation for dinner that afternoon.
We left the cabin at 7:00am, taking a shortcut through the grounds, (Sarge had scoped it earlier), to connect with the Shiraz Trail and followed it into town and then along main street to restaurant itself. Wonderfully comfortable space and not too busy so we joined about five other sets of diners outside, on the covered patio. I took a look at the extensive collection of local wines but it was my considered opinion that the two wines we'd muled were just as interesting and far more reasonably priced, in spite of $10/btl corkage fee, than most of the offerings we might consider. Group concurred and we started with a Maxwell 2010 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, 13.5%. I hadn't tasted it so I was more than delighted with its balance and flavour, lemon and melon and just the right touch of minerality. I had a green salad with balsamic dressing before the kangaroo filet. Both were simple but simply delicious. The Tim Adams 2008 Reserve Cabernet Malbec, 14.5%, paired poifectly with Skippy. For dessert we shared two lemon curd tarts. Paying our bill, we thanked our attentive and friendly waiter, a student at U of Adelaide, and walked slowly home. Sky was filled with stars but nights-cape was not nearly as spectacular as one we'd been dazzled by in Clare. Still, impressive.
Back in the cabin, Sarge poured the Grenache for The Sisterhood and we attempted to do battle with the Edradour, putting a fair dint in its 56.2% full metal jacket body armour before everyone repaired to bed to read. Since there was a line-up for the bathroom I did a few dishes before brushing and flossing. By the time I was ready to follow Inspector Villani through sweltering summer days, (bush fires burn across the state), on the mean streets of Melbourne, Coriandre was well away in Dreamsville, near the border of Snoresville, so I read a few chapters to the symphonic snores until I was bludgeoned to sleep by the not so gentle strains of her stentorian snorts and whistles!
To be continued....
All the best. Cheers, Patrizzio!
P,
Thanks for the pics. What a handsome crew –
how did you ever get into the country?
The suit against Hungie is underway and will
prove to be a piece of cake. Everyone at VLT, especially Captain Marvel, has
already signed up. It is turning into a Hungie class action suit. Even Ray is
willing to testify to his malevolence – and that is only part of the suit.
Big Al may be able to weld the frame so I
have room for optimism on that front.
Mark is hiding somewhere. Te NRBC is
poised to meet at Moe`s on the 15th. Let me know if you will be
Skypable then.
Avulse yourselves from your inebriated
ways. You are making us righteous moss-heads even greener.
Fond regards to you C and all the crew. W
Hi Elly:
We just left Adelaide and arrived in McLaren Vale. We leave here on Sat and head toward Sydney. Looking forward to being at your place on Mon the 9th of April. Wayne
G'day Wayne
The mention of Adelaide brings back some memories having been born their in the last century. Nice place visit wouldn't want to live there. How's all the driving going ? Are the back seat passengers behaving themselves ?
Yes all is in readiness for your arrival on the 9th, I've organised slaughtered of the fatted lamb in anticipation. In addition rose petals will be scattered on the driveway to herald your arrival. The beer is cold and red wine is warm.
Safe driving, Tony
Hi all.
Here is some information I am passing along to those of you on our
group e-mail address. These issues were discussed at our lunch yesterday.
Nadine
1. Basil.
Here is the blog giving updates re Basil: http://basilupdate.blogspot.com
2. Reminder.
Our group e-mail address was set up for all of us to use as needed:
lib-emeritus@interchange.ubc.ca
3. UBC Association of Professors Emeriti.
Here is their web address: www.ubcemeriti.org
You can use this address to access their newsletters. There are
about 6 per year. As I mentioned at the lunch, the Association has
an influence on benefits that we get from UBC so you might want to
check their newsletters regularly if you don't already receive them
as a member.
4. Basil's message read at the lunch.
Here is the text:
Dear Colleagues:
I'm sorry I can't be with you today and thankful to my reader [Bill
Watson] for lending me his voice. There are a few things that I have
been reviewing in my mind and which I am overdue in conveying to you.
In the sixties and seventies the library underwent a period of rapid
growth that we all experienced in individual ways. Only at a
distance can we see how our collective efforts combined to create a
research library worthy of the name "University Library"; the
emphasis being on the root word "universe".
Being closely involved in these developments, lost in detail, you may
not have been aware of the scale of your joint efforts, under several
intertwining themes.
First, collections, that in two decades doubled, passed a million
volumes and went on to double again. For a time, we were blessed
with financial resources that allowed us to buy whatever we liked and
to say "yes" to any faculty request. The end result was one of the
finest academic collections on the continent, built on millions of
your individual choices.
Second, yours was the generation that introduced the library to the
computer, and vice versa. In the sixties rudimentary applications
began to appear. These were aimed at managing routine tasks, such as
circulation. Remember those huge blue terminals, the wide floppy
printouts, all in capitals, the clangorous keypunch room, the
sequestered mainframe computer with its spinning tapes? Decades on
we had desktop computers and information retrieval. We all had to
learn about systems and to guide their development. You were part of
the so-called information revolution, though you may not have known
it when it was happening.
Third, you were involved in the dispersal of collections and public
services, bringing them closer to users in a campus ever-expanding
southward. Two decades of construction resulted in a network of
thirteen or so branches and divisions, and I can't remember how many
reading rooms. From a distant perspective we can now see that this
was a simple reflection of the growth and fragmentation of knowledge
itself. Again, all this was your work.
Fourth, and finally, you stepped into the shoes of UBC's first
generation of librarians, such capable pioneers as Dorothy Jefferd,
Eleanor Mercer, Mabel Lanning, Roland Lanning, Anne Smith. Starting
around 1960 we began to recruit specialist librarians, individuals
who were versed in foreign languages, trained in specific subject
fields, possessed of specialized skills. I try to visualize all of
you, librarians, library assistants, archivists, systems analysts,
programmers, gathered together in one place, probably the size of a
hanger, and I am staggered by the breadth and depth of knowledge you
represent. You are a national treasure.
I hope you enjoy a deep sense of satisfaction when you contemplate
your contributions to the developments I have outlined. I can tell
you that I am very proud and beyond fortunate to have worked with
you. It was my good luck to have stumbled into librarianship at what
proved to be a very exciting, challenging and rewarding time. May
you all be able to say the same on behalf of yourselves.
Thank you for being such wonderful colleagues.
Warmest regards, Basil, March 2012
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