Bikes in History

Mulga Bill's Bicycle

~AB (Banjo) Patterson

'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze;
He turned away the good old horse that served him many days;
He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen;
He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine;
And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride,
The grinning shop assistant said, "Excuse me, can you ride?"


"See here, young man," said Mulga Bill, "from Walgett to the sea,
From Conroy's Gap to Castlereagh, there's none can ride like me.
I'm good all round at everything as everybody knows,
Although I'm not the one to talk - I hate a man that blows.
But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight;
Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wildcat can it fight.
There's nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel,
There's nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel,
But what I'll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight:
I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight."

***

A while ago we had a weekend excusion to the Australian War Memorial which has a marvellous children's section complete with replicas of whirring helicopters, smelly submarines and life on the home front.  It is a very worthwhile place to visit but I do need to remind my son of the horrors of war rather than the Boy's Own excitement of all the battle dioramas and display cases full of dashing military garb and real artillery. 

Here we are peddling away on a stationary bike in one of the social history displays - a rather spindly affair which reminded me of my own trusty, childhood steed; back in the days when bikes had front and rear mud guards, skirt guards and a levered contraption above the back wheel on which to strap your school bag, in addition to a snazzy wire basket on the handle bars and a bell.  There were no gears or hand-brakes and we seemed to get around quite fine without them. 

We hardly ever go cycling these days.  The children don't ride to school and as we are at the top of a hill with busy roads nearby, we don't allow them to ride unaccompanied.  It is usually a big production to strap the bikes onto the car and drive to one of Canberra's spectacular bike paths for a short ride.  A quite unfortunate predicament.

Welcome Your Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II is in town.  It is her 16th visit to Australia.  I'm a bit sentimental about the Queen; not so the institution she represents, but the woman herself.   I'll also confess to having soft spot for official visit programs for Heads of State and Heads of Government, with each item on the itinerary listed in impeccable detail -- every step accounted for, the security protocols, the gift exchanges, speeches and hand-shakes.

She'll be visiting Floriade and taking a boat ride along Lake Burley Griffin today.  She has picked a fine day for a bit of sightseeing.  Perfect Canberra weather.   I wonder if we'll catch a glimpse of her entourage at some stage over the next week or so?

Photo:  By me. Dress-ups at the Museum of Australian Democracy, October 2011.

xxx

October School Holidays: Howzat!

Twice a Week the Winter Thorough

~ A. E. Housman

Twice a week the winter thorough

Here stood I to keep the goal:

Football then was fighting sorrow

For the young man's soul.

Now in Maytime to the wicket

Out I march with bat and pad:

See the son of grief at cricket

Trying to be glad.

Try I will; no harm in trying:

Wonder 'tis how little mirth

Keeps the bones of man from lying

On the bed of earth.

***

School holidays are almost over and we've had a relaxing time at home for most of it.  Ro-Ro participated in the Kookaburra Cup cricket series at Manuka Oval and a separate, junior cricket clinic.  He's come home with two decent cricket hats signed by Ricking Ponting, two souvenir shirts made of a synthetic, breeze-through material, $10 off voucher from the Sportmans Warehouse and a couple of ornamental cricket ball key rings as part of the kit.  I hope he also picked up some decent cricket skills. 

The rest of us have enjoyed a semi-open house arrangement with the neighbouring children which has involved lots of competitive DS and Wizard 101 tournaments, zipping over the lower part of the fence at the back of the yard to bounce on our respective trampolines and probably eating twice as many snacks as strictly necessary as they blithely saunter into each other's kitchens and raid the pantry.

I've been cooking up a storm myself in order to use up left overs.  Rather like the daytime TV show which involves a chef and a member of the studio audience having to devise a menu around a handful of ingredients, this has resulted in some unexpected creations such as almond friands from "out of the fire and into the frying pan" - a collection of recipes from the Duffy Primary School community and friends - October 2003, Nigella Lawson's Mughlai Chicken and Susan Duncan's "House at Salvation Creek" Lemon Cake.   The results have been varied.  I blame the oven.  It has been fun trying though, without the pressure which normally accompanies the after school and work, weekday rush.  I could so get used to this more moderate tempo, in which I can hear and listen to bird calls and notice the flowering azaleas and lavender in the garden, rather than leave it all behind each morning unnoticed and unappreciated in a workday blur.  Would I miss work?

Ode to Birds

Ode to Bird Watching

~ Pablo Neruda

Now

Let's look for birds!

The tall iron branches

in the forest,

The dense

fertility on the ground.

The world

is wet.

A dewdrop or raindrop

shines,

a diminutive star

among the leaves.

The morning time

mother earth

is cool.

The air

is like a river

which shakes

the silence.

It smells of rosemary,

of space

and roots.

Overhead,

a crazy song.

It's a bird.

A little while ago, we trekked off to the Jerrabomberra Wetlands to investigate the walks and bird-watching huts.  There's a bit of re-vitalisation work going on to remove willow from the waterways which is not so attractive, but there is also a charming bike path connecting the suburbs of Russell to Kingston which threads its way though prettier sections.  It turned into a scout's adventure.  We did spot a few birds but, alack and alas, we did not have our copy of John Gould's Birds of Australia and cannot recall what they were.  

I'm on a mission to take the children on similar exploratory ganders around Canberra especially now that the weather is warmer and the days longer.  Just an occasional short walk beyond our usual orbit to make us appreciate how much open space we have in the Bush Capital.   I'm inspired by Tim the Yowie Man who writes a highly informative column about local places roundabout these here parts in the Panorama magazine which falls out of the Saturday edition of The Canberra Times.  He also tweets.  Heh, like a bird (sorry).  We also admire his hat.  Check him out and get walking.

Idleness

Against Idleness and Mischief ~ Isaac Watts (1674 - 1748) How skilfully she builds her Cell! How neat she spreads the Wax! And labours hard to store it well With the sweet Food she makes. In Works of Labour or of Skill I would be busy too: For Satan finds some Mischief still For idle Hands to do. In Books, or Work, or healthful Play Let my first Years be past, That I may give for every Day Some good Account at last. *** Sweet Spring weather has arrived with its raw, green smells and increasingly crisper afternoon light. Soccer training has finished for the season so Wednesday afternoons can be re-claimed.  Right now, we are listening to The Railway Children being read on an audio-book from the library and lolling about waiting for finger bun dough to rise.  The children have settled on the couch in a row, school shirts pulled up, scratching each other's backs.  Too bad there's music practice and a bit of homework to break the idle spell.  But not just yet.  Photo: By me. Molongolo Reach, Lake Burley Griffin. Mid-Winter 2011,

The Footballer's Affirmation

The meditation affirmation of Brett Kirk, Captain of the Sydney Swans AFL team (Captain Kirk).

"As a human being I’m honest, I’m passionate, I’m courageous, I’m disciplined, I have a concentrated mind, I’m compassionate, I’m aware, I’m a good listener, I’m patient, I’m tolerant, I’m fun, I’m adventurous, I’m loving and I’m affectionate, I’m kind, I’m responsible, I am love. I don’t get caught up in my thoughts, I don’t give control to my ego, I don’t dwell on the past, I don’t worry about the future, because the only moment we have is this moment right now."

I caught this thanks to Judith Lucy's Spiritual Journey program on the ABC (a comedic Aussie version of Eat, Pray, Love.  Sort of.)    I only saw a snippet of one episode but what a compelling one it was.  A highly evolved footy player!  Too good to be true.  In addition to this startling revelation which almost, but not quite, converted me to the sport, however, it was also a timely reminder of the need for some still, quiet moments in the day.  Because once the children get in the car, the noise and busy-ness begins and there's no let-up until bedtime. It takes vast amounts of psychic energy after a day's work to cajole and persuade children to do music practice, eat dinner without too much carry-on and put the dishes in the sink etc, so one needs to build up reserves of patience.  

Photo: Our walk along the base of Red Hill on the Deakin-side looking south-west.  By me. Walking it off is another recommended form of therapy.