Penniedarling

I had to get a couple of little pieces of bacon for her didn't I. 

Mandy visits a couple of times a month, unless she's always here and I just don't see her, or hear her.

Lots of numbers had to be dialed for a call to Australia on Christmas Day back in 1968, not dialed by me though, I had to book a call in England and the person on the switch board dialed all those numbers to connect me to my Mummy and Daddy back home.

Labels: 3/17, England 1968

That's Pope Paul up in that top window in the Vatican City back in 1969, giving his words of wisdom, not that we understood.  The Square was packed with true believers, amazing it was and how lucky were we to just wander in at this moment.

Labels: 3/17, Europe by London Taxi

 Remember this post I put up on this blog on the 24th of March... well that prompted a phone call from my brother Tim suggesting I apologize to him... Mmmmmmmm... Apologize?

Not yet Tim, but I have been investigating ever since! 

I said in that post that my father, seated in the drivers seat of' 'Tabitha' our London Taxi, had gone to the docks to collect 'Tabitha' for us because we were at sea on the Pacific Ocean heading for California. I have a telegram from Mum dated 30th June 1970 saying 'Tabitha has arrived safe and sound'

WELL!  My brother Tim rings me last week saying that it wasn't our Dad who had collected 'Tabitha' it was he and his girlfriend Wendy. (Tim was 22 at this time)

To say I was shocked is an understatement because ever since we'd received that Telegram while we were nearing the International Dateline, informing us that 'Tabitha' had arrived safe and sound after the tremendous storm off the coast of WA... David and I had thought that it had been my Dad who had collected her from the docks in Sydney!  

We're talking 47 years ago here.

So I emailed my brother Nick to get his side of the story and he said he always thought it was Dad who had collected 'Tabitha' but all he really remembers is that he wasn't allowed to go and help collect her because he had to go to School. (Nick would have been 12 at this time)

Now some of you may think, well Pennie and David must have made a mistake, but let me tell you something!

My brother Tim is a trickster well known for his tricks, pranks and so on!  Simple stuff such as stealing a little piece of Charlie's sausage about 8 or 9 years ago which Charlie has never forgotten and there are other incidents.

NOW my big question has to be!  Why hasn't Tim reminded David and I of this very gracious and important deed of his sometime in the past 47 years?? 

So off I go to the Photo Album!

Here are some more photos sent to us while we were living in the USA.

 Dad and Nick with some of Nick's friends and the local Service Station manager enjoying a little look at the engine.
 'Tabitha' being much admired by passers by, that's the Newport Arms on the far left.
 'Tabitha', with Dad driving, being housed in the spare garage of David's family holiday home on Newport Beach.
 Hurray!   our 'Tabitha' safe and sound just waiting for us to return to Australia in 4 1/2 months time.

It's mid November 1970, Pennie and David are home, here's Pennie and Nick at Newport Beach.

 Now here are some more photos...  This is 'Tabitha' at my parents home in Newport, is that Tim on the left hand side?  Hang on... or is it David?   I'm pretty sure it's David.  Or is it?  And I think that's Nick on the bonnet?

 I know that's Nick at the back of 'Tabitha' who are the others?  Wendy and Tim and ??  ??
 Who is this?  and Who belongs to the Volkswagen?   Was it yours Tim?

 Now that's David standing on the running board polishing the roof, who are the other two?

UH! HA!...   Now that is definitely Tim at the front of 'Tabitha', David standing on the running board, his sister Julia beside him and is that his brother Andrew at the rear.

Now Tim Rodd!!  you have a broken arm in this photo!  How could you have driven our London Taxi home from the docks with a broken ARM?

I'm still thinking about the Apology....  :-)

Labels: London Taxi, Tim Rodd

Not exactly floating, more like rowing but isn't he gorgeous in his bus man's hat on the River Wey with a group of our English friends including those girls in the other boat who were friends of mine from Australia.

Labels: 3/17, England 1968

David enjoying a shave in a cold river somewhere in Wales back in 1968, that razor had to be sharp to be successful in that cold eh!

Labels: 3/17, David, Europe by London Taxi

Enjoying a picnic while watching Outdoor Theatre at Polsden Lacey in Surrey.  It was Shakespeare's Richard the Third... and it was a horrible story, but the place, the company and the picnic were fabulous.

Labels: 3/17, England 1968

These wonderful shops, this one is in Switzerland, had the most inviting aroma, all the goodies were so delicately made and so costly we could rarely afford to buy anything.   Love the name of the owner  :-)

Labels: 3/17, Europe by London Taxi

Half of David, wearing another jumper I knitted for him well before we married.   David is standing on the Ramparts at Angouleme in France 1969.

Labels: 3/17, Europe by London Taxi

In case you haven't guessed... The Sun is SHINING!  The sky is mostly BLUE!!  Hurray!

And... David and I just danced around the kitchen  :-)

Labels: Songs

My baby brother Nick!  That's Dad in the drivers seat after picking our London Taxi up from the docks when it arrived from England back in 1970, we were on the high seas on our way to California at this time.

Interestingly, there was a Petrol Strike on at this time but Dad managed to drive the Taxi home on the Diesel fuel it still had in it which had been bought in England two months beforehand.

Labels: 3/17, London Taxi

Seen on a backyard clothes line somewhere in Northern Sydney Yesterday...


SUNSHINE!    These three loads of washing, all towels,  dried perfectly and were folded and put away before another very heavy storm hit the area. 

Yesterday's storm bought down trees and power lines all over Sydney and the State but thankfully not in this back yard.

So far this March we have had 235.2mm of rain in 17 days!   What!  Mr Weather Man do you mean it hasn't rained 5 of the 22 days we've had this month so far, doesn't feel like it or maybe it's just the 90% to 100% Humidity that makes me think it's been raining All month!

Sun is predicted for part of today which will be delightful but another Thunderstorm is also predicted late this afternoon.

Labels: Home, Weather

Says it all doesn't it...  LOL!!

Labels: 3/17, London Taxi

I bought this striped toweling dress in Marks and Sparks before we left England but wasn't happy with the way the stripes met down the sides so undid it while we were on the Trans Siberian Railway and matched them  :-)   It is one long trip and I needed something to do with my hands.

Labels: 3/17, Europe by London Taxi

I found, in amongst our photos, the Monterey Peninsular Herald report of this Earthquake which happened on Thursday the 4th of August 1970, it registered  4.5 to 5 points on the Richter Scale…  Wow!  That's Big.



 

Labels: Stories

 It was dry enough this morning to see if I could find some colour in the garden...










Lovely mostly smelly flowers... Aaaahhhhh....

But then there are these all down the south side of the driveway!   Yikes!  Scary, very scary.

Labels: Garden

 Couldn't find a good button photo.. but these bullet holes in this building in Budapest are the size of buttons??  Well some of them are anyway.

Labels: 3/17, Europe by London Taxi

This is some wall to beat all walls eh!  Leonardo De Vinci's Last Supper in Milan... those were the days when one could just wander in off the street, that's me enjoying a close up.  

Now if you want to see the Last Supper you have to book before leave your country and it costs money... $US 71.16...  we just walked in for free back in 1969.

Labels: 3/17, Europe by London Taxi

On this day back in 1982.   Don't look very happy do we!  We caught the train to North Sydney and walked across our Bridge...  or should I say we 'tried' to walk across our Bridge, got stuck in a real big 'Human' jam before we got half way across. 

Tomos found something precious, I forgotten what and Briony is proudly holding up the 2c coin she found or was it a 5c coin?  

Very bad organizing by those that shall remain nameless, with unlimited numbers of people walking from the North as well as from the South will meet in the middle...  BIG JAM!!

Labels: Sydney

All these trees in this courtyard in Seville, Spain are Orange trees.

Labels: 3/17, Europe by London Taxi

The first job I had in England back in 1968 was secretarial for 'Reid and Campbell' in Horsham, I left them to spend a couple of months tripping around Europe in our London Taxi.  On our return my 'Daily' job was working at Marks and Sparks in Guildford, Surrey.  It was fun actually, great place to work and they provided a hot lunch at the cost of 1/-  not bad eh.

Labels: 3/17, London Taxi, Pennie

Enjoy your day Emma.

Labels: Emma

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is certainly 'Off Centre' isn't it... that's our London Taxi parked on the right, you can't drive this close any more, nor can you climb the tower as we did back in 1969.

Labels: 3/17, Pisa

There she is with Mum behind, look at the beautiful blue on her wing.  Mandy only has to make one short sound and I'm her's!

 Mandy and Mum stayed for ages and didn't fly off till I had been inside a while, I was watching though :-)

Milly is never far away, David fed her a couple of grapes while I was attending to Mandy  :-)

Labels: Mandy, Milly