Looking around Oslo - in the fog!

Ok, I said that I would be a little more active with blogging… BUT, in my defence, I have not had much to blog about, and I have been unwell and suffering from a sore neck and headaches (migraines)!

Having said that, I flew from Sydney to London via Bangkok where I met up with a flicker mate for a quick dinner!

Uwe at LVL55 Bangkok
After dinner, I continued my flights to London via Zurich, where I had a quick transit to my last flight to London.

now, I was only in London for four days, and those four days were some of the most uncomfortable I have had in a long time; thanks neck and headaches! I barely managed to just get out and do some spotting (a mere 5 minute walk from my hotel). I did (just) manage to get into London on one day… :(

Then, It was 'time to fly' with my destination being Oslo, Norway! Here I caught up with a few old friends, and I have made some new friends as well!

Today though, we went to the Nes Church Ruins. This was a church, which went through some modifications over several centuries, only to be struck by lightening in 1854

Next stop, was the Trandumskogen which was the site of one of the first discoveries (May 1945) of German mass graves in Norway. The German executioner Oskar Hans was the officer in command of the unit performing the executions. In total 173 Norwegians, 6 British citizens and 15 Russians were executed in Trandumskogen. Many had been sentenced to death by the German occupation forces, but there was also a great number who were subject to arbitrary executions. After the Second World War, Norwegian citizens sentenced for treason, and leading members of the Norwegian national socialist party Nasjonal Samling were forced to open the graves and exhume the bodies of the executed prisoners. On 10 October 1954, the memorial in Trandumskogen was unveiled. H. H. K. Crown Prince Olav stood for the ceremony. Per Palle Storm (1910-1994), artist and sculptor and professor at the National Art Academy had carried out the artistic part of the work. The memorial is carved of light Granite (Iddefjordgranitt). To the south side an inscription is carved in Norwegian. The same text translated into Russian is cut into the east side and in English to the west side. The memorial is located south of the burial ground. The memorial lists the names of those who were executed there. The memorial has status as a Norwegian national memorial.

Tomorrow, we are going down to the Fjords, a ferry across to Sweden, and then back home to Oslo - should be fun!

Hoo roo for now...

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Flying away to another land, far far away...

Well, come Sunday, I will be leaving on my trip…. And WHAT a trip it will be… I still have a few things left to do though!! I have a house sitter, so the house will be occupied whilst I am away and the 'fur-kids' will be well looked after… But, where AM I going I hear you ask?? EVERYWHERE!!!

Flight List & Hotels

Flight Miles

Flightpath

I have a conference to go in Monte Carlo, about the middle of the trip, and I have meetings along the way in Europe mainly… I have also set up a meeting in Brazil! BUT, one spot I am REALLY looking forward to, is the visit to St Maarten in the Dutch Antilles. It is like the 'Mecca' for 'spotters' to go to, and I am really looking forward to it!! NOW, I am getting there from a different routing than everything else I have seen; most arrive from Paris or Amsterdam (AF/KLM) or from Miami (any of the major carriers). Where as, I am routing in from Saò Paulo Brazil!!

Anyway, its ALL booked now, and I am ready to go… All I have to do now is pack!! haha

Earlier in the week, I was wanting to do some more 'macro' photography, some close-ups. The old Passionfruit is in flower again, so I grabbed a shot of a flower on it…

Passiflora spp

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 88 - Melbourne

St Kilda Beach Sunset

Melbourne CBD

Hoo roo for now...

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A New 'Dawn' begins...

Ok, I have not 'disappeared' nor have I fallen off the planet, I have just been busy and also not particularly in the 'mood' or 'zone' for blogging… As you may know, there has been an 'air' of uncertainty at work, well that 'air' has now gone, and I am now, as of TODAY, unemployed! The environment at work was such that I am now, happy to be OUT of it! I had asked a management person for a 'personal' reference, and gave him a dozen or so point to form one up. I also said that I felt 'uncomfortable' and it was 'inappropriate' for me to wrote my own for his signature! His reply not only left ME, but also another manager, gobsmacked, as he STILL wanted me to form the 'personal' reference for him to then 'personalise'! Can someone please tell me how this is a personal reference?? BUT, this is how he rolls, and I am happy to be free from him and the environment to which it has become, as the 'heart and soul' has not only gone from what once was a great place to work, but its been ripped out from within! So, now, its onwards and upwards from here...

So, whats been happening? I have been busy with photography, I have a news lens, and I am about to head overseas for a conference; and I will be heading to the 'spotters mecca, St Maarten in the Dutch Antilles! My car purchase is on hold, in fact, my current car is in for a service now!! I am off to Melbourne on Thursday for the opening of a friends exhibition as well, so busy days ahead before I leave in three weeks!

Hoo roo for now...

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Bronty turns TWO!!!

Yesterday, Bronty turned two!! YAY?? no... She was a little bitch!! I say this in every sense of the word as well, not just because she is, well, a she!! Let me explain...

Bronty with her new toys

I stopped on my way home, to get her some new toys, some treats, and groceries for me. When I got home, she was really happy to see me, as she had been inside all day (first time)! Anyway, I let her outside for about 30 minutes or so, and when she came back in, she went to her bed whilst I mad a cuppa (coffee). Anyway, I hat a hat for her to wear, and she had this on without a problem!! BUT, she was excited for her 'cake', and in her excitement, her tail whipped of my cup from the coffee table, and flung it over towards my Macbook Pro and lounge... Yes, coffee and laptop are never a good mix. I literally SCREAMED, and she went straight to the back door, whilst I powered the laptop down. She went out, and came nowhere NEAR the back door wanting back in! I then started to clean up the mess, but guess who was getting stuck into the muffin that was to have been Bronty's birthday cake?? the bloody cat!! I was not in a good mood...

About 45 minutes later, I let her in, and she sheepishly went straight to her bed, and although I had her dinner treat ready, a meat pie, she was hesitant to come near me! She wanted to, but thought I was still angry... Poor thing, she was really excited to get her pie!

Birthday Hat

Birthday Pie

Luckily enough though, I had another muffin, and it was time for her to have her birthday cake!!

Is THAT cake?

Lemme see...

JUST a little bit closer...

It IS CAKE!!!!

Happy Birthday Bronty - you're the best!!

Hoo roo for now...

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Bloody car... (and WORK too for that matter)

I have been wanting to upgrade my car for a little while now, actually, since January this year to be precise! But, with work deleting my position (and YES, it has been going on THAT long) I have been in somewhat of a limbo land, so I have put it off. Back in January, I was looking at a Toyota Prado and a Mitsubishi Pajero, both are about the size I am looking at. Simply put, Bronty has out grown my car, a Suzuki Vitara!

now, I have still been looking as the months have rolled on, and now that the redundancy is looming closer, I am now a little more anxious as to what is going to happen. Additionally, come September, I will no longer have to pay a bill that I have been paying for the past few years, so that is also good, but without a job, there is an added pressure. I am still thinking a Prado or a Pajero is the ideal car for me...

Well, the other day, whilst driving along on a VERY BUSY peak hour M4, the inevitable happened; I broke down again, it was the clutch. You may remember from THIS POST a few weeks back that the clutch went, but in fact, it was just the Slave and Master Cylinders that needed replacing. The mechanic also mentioned to me that the 'Pressure Plate' is looking as though it is also on the way, but considering that I am looking at getting rid of the old girl, they made adjustments to it, and we were on our way again. Brakes were also done at the same time!

Anyway, I am driving in the fast lane, very inside lane, and as the traffic was crawling along, it wanted to keep going even though my foot was ON the clutch pedal. I simply put it into neutral, and rolled to a stop. BUT, I was in the inside fast lane, and I had to cross over a lane to get into the breakdown area. I let the traffic move a little bit, put it into first gear, and started the car and put the hazard lights on, turned them off with my left blinker ON, and managed to get across pretty easy actually! I then called the NRMA (roadside service). initially, it was a discussion, but when I said what the problem was, rather than send a serviceman out and THEN a towie, they just sent a tow-truck to pick me up and take me to my mechanic (which is within the 20klm area I get free towing).

in the end, it was a linkage problem between the clutch pivot point, and the slave cylinder, and it was a cheap repair at $190, but needless to say, the search begins, in earnest, for a new car!!

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday N0.87 - Airport Sunrise

Good Morning Sydney ATC… Open for arrivals and departures!

Sydney ATC Tower

DHL B767 Freighter

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 86 - Instagram

JUST getting into this 'Instagram' stuff, and so far, the pets have been copping a battering!!

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In other news, I have been busy this past week tending to Miss Bronty, who was desexed last Tuesday. She was very good, and up until Monday morning, was excellent in NOT touching her wound. BUT, an emergency trip to the hospital caused an extra few stitches to be put back in...

As for 'work', the goal post's keep changing, and whilst I have been made 'redundant' and unsuccessful in ataing a new position in a new structure here at 'work', I was given a date ("sometime in July") that the new structure would come into place... This has changed to "the 'end' of August (at least)"! Nothing quite like being in limbo land, hey?

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 85 - Pelican

Pelican on a light - about to take flight

Pelican - in flight

Pelican - in flight

Pelican - in flight

Pelican - off into the distance...

Hoo roo for now...

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