Travelling the World Piece by Piece: Day 8 – England and Wrap Up

Cottage, England Today is our final location in our whirlwind tour of the world, travelling by puzzle, and these two sites are a little ambiguous. Labelled simply as “English Cottage,” I am not sure of their exact location, except that they are somewhere in England. Very helpful indeed. It is interesting to reflect on how …

Travelling the World Piece by Piece: Day 7 – Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle It is day seven on our puzzle tour and this is what you call a house with a view. Neuschwanstein Castle must be one of the most popular puzzle castles because you can find so many different versions taken from almost every angle and in every season of the year. It is also …

Travelling the World Piece by Piece: Day 6 – Provence

Provence, France It is Day Six of our World Tour and we are in the beautiful French region of Provence. France is the number one tourist destination in the world with the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the French Riviera topping many bucket lists of places to see. I guess it is surprising then that …

Travelling the World Piece by Piece: Day 5 – Italy

Rome Italy has a long and fascinating history. As the centre of the Renaissance, it has been enormously influential in art, music, and architecture. We only need to think of the contributions of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, the ancient Latin poets such as Ovid and Virgil, and don’t forget Dante Alighieri and Niccolò Machiavelli.  Then …

Travelling the World Piece by Piece: Day 4 – Cappadocia

Cappadocia, Turkey Here we are on day four of our world puzzle tour and we are leaving the lush tropical forest of India for a landscape that can only be described as eerie. The striking contrast between the colourful hot balloons and the arid rocky landscape of the Cappadocia Region in Turkey is quite eye …

Travelling the World Piece by Piece: Day 2 – The Marble Temple

The Marble Temple It is day two of our world tour and our first overseas destination is the Marble Temple in Thailand. Thailand is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South East Asia, noted for its beautiful beaches and vibrant culture. It has a population of around 70 million but many still live …

Historic Toowoomba: City Hall and the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall

Once upon a time, before Covid, the CBD used to be a very busy place. On any given morning it was not unusual to see workers and shoppers scurrying past heritage buildings with scarcely a thought to their history or significance. Growing up in Adelaide I did the same thing. Week in and week out …

Historic Toowoomba – the Regional Art Gallery

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.Aristotle What is art? Ask this question and you will get a myriad of answers. Art, like beauty, seems to be in the eye of the beholder. I am not very good at art. In fact, I failed it …

Living in Dark Times

When we look back over history, there have been many dark periods. Plagues. Natural disasters. Oppression, slavery and unending violence. And countless wars. Yet there has always been a fragile thread of hope in human progress - an enduring belief that life could be better, more secure, fairer and peaceful. After the twentieth century, the …

Up the Country – Miles Franklin

The winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award for 2021 was announced just a few days ago with the prize going to Amanda Lohrey for her novel The Labyrinth. I haven’t actually read any of the books on the shortlist, which is quite normal for me, as I generally tend to catch up with recommended …