Hi there PAUL1405 and everyone else on OLO and the Forum; I can only hope you all had a very happy, and enjoyable Christmas, while being amongst your families and friends. And the rapidly approaching 2015, proves to be a far safer, and a much happier and healthier year, then was 2014 !

Paul1405...

Your descriptions of Christmas at you home were more of less a mirrored image of ours ? Lots of laughter, eating more laughter, noise, and yet more eating...well I believe you know exactly what I mean ? Today a certain aura of quietness seems to have settled upon us once more, for awhile at least anyway ?

You said your partner 'T' was not accepted there for awhile by your son and other family members, however things have managed to have worked themselves out ? Family dynamics do tend to 'bottom out' given a little time, and left to do so ? And our delightful Maori cousins (merely across the ditch) have marvellous musical prestige, as uniquely demonstrated by 'T's' distinctive talents with her Ukulele and fine singing voice ! Polynesian and Melanesian cultures are totally suffused with a sense of real musical ability and cadence ! Unlike us Aussies, good at 'shoring up' the public bar but, we do have our limitations...?

Pleased you had a fantastic Christmas PAUL, at my age, I've got to make the best of each and every one of em' now I reckon, LOL !

Interestingly the more I read and hear of the first or (Great) War, the more I realise I don't know much about it at all ? Both my Grandfathers were in the Army. My paternal, was in the Anglo-Boer War (British Army) and my maternal Grandfather, WW l. I've spent more time attempting to research the former, than WW l where I have much more in the way of dependable records in my possession. I'll get around to it soon enough I expect ? Catch you soon Paul.

Hi o sung wu, had a great avo out in Newtown Sydney. Pub lunch which was great 'T" had beef ribs for 15 bucks big serve, she loves anything with bones, (I tell her that's the cannibal in her, ha, ha) I had the $10 chicken, salad and bread rolls all up lunch with a couple of drinks each $55. Talking of WWI after lunch we took in a movie at the 'Dendy' Russell Crowe in 'The Water Diviner' The plot is "After the Battle of Gallipoli (1915), in 1919, an Australian farmer, Connor (Russell Crowe), travels to Turkey to find his 3 missing sons." Wont say anymore than a good flick, even "T" enjoyed it and she not a "war" movie person, this is a lot more than a simple war flick, certainly worth a watch. I'll add some great acting by Yilmaz Erdogan, playing a Turkish Army Major who befriends Connor. RC's first attempt at directing was a great success.

Paul and O sung wu,
WW1 saw the first terrorist attack in Aus.

A couple of Turks that lived in Broken Hill, apparently deciding to help their countries war effort in 1915, set themselves up on a hill and shot at passengers in an open train slowly going up hill to a picnic day not far from BH.

They killed 3 or 4 but they themselves were sighted later and shot by a group hunting them.

Wikipedia has story and pics if you want.

Good evening to you PAUL...

Actually I've heard it was a pretty good movie, and with Russell CROWE, it should be quite good, he can surely act when he chooses to do so ? Newtown is a pretty 'up market' place to be these days, the new Paddington I've heard, with real estate prices almost reflecting that of Beverly Hills CA, well not quite, but you know what I mean !

The prices they charged you weren't too bad either, given it's Boxing Day, a gazetted public holiday ? Newtown would be close to your own 'stamping grounds' when you were at Uni.? Sydney University virtually just around the corner so to speak ? Or did you attend UNSW ?

Well PAUL, I'll probably sign off for now, and quietly wait until another correspondent raises some other contemporary and highly relevant Theme ?? So we can all strenuously, get our collective dentures and teeth, zealously into it and tear it asunder !

Take it easy mate !

o sung wu spent time at Sydney Uni and probably too much time at the near by Forest Lodge Hotel, drinking and plotting with the rest of the uni 'ratbags'. p/s More drinking than plotting.
We spend a lot of time in Newtown, our Greens branch boarders the burb and Newtown is a new seat we hope to win at the 2015 NSW state election. It would double our lower house representation to two, Labor is the danger and the small Liberal and others preferences could be a deciding factor, however we usually do well from Liberal preferences in that area, its optional preferential voting anyway. That would come as a surprise for some, Liberal voters preference going to a Green candidate. I'm sure we'll bump into the Liberals before the election.

Hi, o sung wu, Newtown up market, wow, how things change.

One of my girlfriends was head mistress of a primary school there in the late 60s. She resigned when the little darlings started dropping bricks from the top floor, [3 or 4 story red brick building], trying to get the teachers.

She said it was the darker complexion kids doing it. Could that have been the start of Oz terrorism?

She went back when they offered her a nice new SINGLE STORY school in a nicer suburb, like Ryde or Eastwood, area.

Those were the days. In places like Balmain you could buy 2 adjoining tenements for about 7,000 pounds the pair, combine them into one reasonable pad, renovate them, & commit daylight robbery by selling the result to some sucker for almost 25,000 pounds.

The Australian Racing Drivers Club was in Leichhardt. Nice central location, but you wouldn't buy a house there. Today you couldn't afford to.

Yep things have changed.