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 …

Australian Women’s History – Notorious Australian Women

A few months ago I started a short series on Australian Women’s History. After completing the first three parts, Come In Spinner, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, and the Memoirs of Tilly Aston, life kind of hit, and part four has been languishing on my to-do list ever since. My original idea was to explore women …

Historic Toowoomba – the Ups and Downs of Showbiz

The Empire Theatre, Toowoomba We love the arts. Music, dance, musical theatre, film, literature…we love them all and enjoy expanding our horizons and experience of the arts whenever we can. Toowoomba has the largest performing arts centre in regional Australia, the Empire Theatre, and it has a fascinating history. We have attended many performances at …

Historic Toowoomba – Heritage Churches in the City Centre

Not something we'd ever see in Toowoomba! It is not surprising to find old churches regularly listed on historical walks. With their gothic arches, steep roofs and stained glass windows they are incredibly beautiful buildings and even when they are no longer being used as a worship centre, they can make interesting homes, galleries and …

Historic Toowoomba – the Long Arm of the Law

For those of us who are law abiding citizens, the inner workings of the police station and law courts may be a mystery. I have never been inside a court room and only visited the Toowoomba Police station once and that was to hand in a lost wallet I found outside our house. The little …