1 FEB 2026
Claassen family in South Africa
My (ex) wife Juliet is Afrikaans and her surname is Claassen. One of Juliet’s cousins, Johann, is a genealogist and he contacted me recently after discovering...
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18 JAN 2026
The joys and woes of buying a home
Buying a home in 2026 is exciting but more stressful than I remember it being in the 1990s and early 2000s, with joys and woes galore today. Having been a re...
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28 JULY 2025
The conundrum of roundabouts
Roundabouts are like a microcosm of society. Some people go through them too aggressively and some are too defensive, not enough are sensible. At Mount Gambi...
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18 MAY 2025
Bullboar sausages
Bullboar sausages are a uniquely Central Victorian food that was brought to the region during the gold rush in the 1850s by Italian-speaking Swiss migrants. ...
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14 APR 2025
House sitting in Australia
Metung on the Gippsland Lakes Welcome to my guide on house sitting in Australia, how to get started and how to find a dream house in an idyllic locatio...
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26 DEC 2023
Sex, feuds and devotion
The grave site of Mary Gorey at Kyneton, alongside her parents. This is a true story of sex, feuds and devotion. It’s the story of my grandfather’s aunt,...
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9 JULY 2023
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
A scene from the TV version of Cloudstreet Cloudstreet by Tim Winton is the best Australian novel I’ve read in several years. I preface that by saying I...
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9 JULY 2023
ISTJ personality type
I undertook a free Myer-Briggs personality test in 2007 and repeated it today with the same result. ISTJ = Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging. Accordi...
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9 JULY 2023
Offa's Dyke path
In 2014 I walked the 285km Offa’s Dyke Path from Chepstow to Prestatyn along the Wales-England border, staying at pubs and B&Bs along the way. The interm...
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29 NOV 2020
Coronavirus wipes out 2020
The year 2020 is both memorable and one to forget. It's memorable for having the first global pandemic since Spanish Flu in 1918-19. It's forgettable for sti...
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