Dear OTB,

Talking about grand hotels...

The next time that you and your family find
yourselves heading towards Melbourne I suggest
that you stop off at Ballarat and check out -
"Craig's Royal Hotel." It's been magnificently
restored to its former glory and you'd all enjoy it
immensely.

Dear Poirot,

Just letting you know that I'm going to take a
break from OLO and this forum. My heart's not
really in it any more. Anyway, Thanks for all
your support - its been great sharing cyber-space
with you.

Cheers.

Speaking of elegant footwear, nothing could compare with that finely crafted and stylish, 'elastic sided' boot, by that acclaimed fashion house 'Baxter' ! Thousands upon thousands of 'flatfooted' coppers surely can't be wrong ? What better boots could one hope for, to exacerbate your falling arches, irritate one's 'bunions' and compound the already painful 'hammer toe', that one tended to develope shortly after joining-up !

There's no doubt about it, the NSW Police do have ways of keeping their members on their (excruciatingly painful) toes ? I suppose there's got to be much, much, more to that beguiling epithet; those 'flatfooted' coppers. Moreover, affectionately referred to as the podiatrist friend ?

Come back & see us some time Foxy lady.

Yo - Foxy...we all get like that sometimes...I usually "take a break" after getting frustrated and chucking a huge wobbly : )

Regarding nice hotels - back in the seventies when I was working at a department store, we'd all go for a drink after work at the Palace Hotel in St Georges Terrace, before Bondy got hold of it and turned the site into the Bond Tower. (kept the facade though)

Anyway, the front lounge was quite exquisite - sort of a throwback to the forties, with plush leather chairs, overlooking the Terrace, etc - a corner bar with a lovely old retainer-type barman who's name was Leon and who welcomed us all with open arms when we trooped in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_Hotel,_Perth

Lovely memories...

Ah FOXY please, just take a bit of a break. I realise my behaviour lately has not been good, and I've already tried to apologise to you for that lapse of good manners.

Perhaps it's me that should take the break, allowing for more cordial discussion to occur, rather than taking some perverse delight in teasing somebody else, for holding opinions dissimilar to my own ? Please reconsider as HASBEEN so graciously put it 'FOXY lady', you'd be missed immeasurably, where I'd be acclaimed should I 'pull the pin', permanently !